The qualifying offer picture around the NBA is starting to come into focus, and a few familiar names are landing on very different tracks.
In Golden State, the big decision was to keep center Quinten Post in the fold. Post, 26, has carved out rotation minutes in the Warriors’ frontcourt over his first two NBA seasons, appearing in 109 games and starting 49.
He’s averaged 7.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 16.9 minutes per game, while shooting .443 from the field, .364 from three and .786 at the line. His qualifying offer is projected to come in at $2.65MM, which makes him a restricted free agent.
The Warriors also kept their rights on two players who are no longer on the roster. They issued two-way qualifying offers to both Mannion and Armstrong, preserving their NBA rights even though each continues his career overseas. Mannion hasn’t appeared in the NBA since 2021, while Armstrong wasn’t in the league last season.
Elsewhere, the Knicks chose a different route with Ariel Hukporti. According to Vincent Goodwill of ESPN, New York did not give the big man a qualifying offer, which means he’ll hit the market as an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
That doesn’t rule out a return to the Knicks - Hukporti can still re-sign with the team - but New York will no longer have matching rights if another club makes him an offer. Hukporti averaged 2.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 54 games in 2025/26.
San Antonio made sure to retain flexibility with its two-way spots. The Spurs issued qualifying offers to Harrison Ingram and David Jones Garcia ahead of Monday’s deadline, turning both into restricted free agents, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac.
Jones Garcia’s QO is essentially another one-year two-way deal, while Ingram’s is a standard one-year minimum-salary contract. Both come with small partial guarantees - about $91K for Jones Garcia and a little over $109K for Ingram.
Oklahoma City also stayed in the qualifying offer game, giving Brooks Barnhizer a two-way QO before his second NBA season, Smith reported. The 2025 second-round pick appeared in 40 games off the bench as a rookie, averaging 1.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per contest.
Boston, meanwhile, went the other direction. The Celtics did not extend qualifying offers to Max Shulga or John Tonje, leaving both as unrestricted free agents, Smith tweeted. Both late second-round picks from a year ago spent time on Boston’s standard roster and in two-way slots, but neither saw much action at the NBA level.
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The financial side would be delicate, and the roster fit would have to make sense for both sides, but the appeal is obvious from San Antonios perspective. A lineup built around DeAaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, LeBron and Wembanyama would instantly change the temperature around the Spurs, while the Lakers would only consider such a move if they believed the return helped them elsewhere. The question now is whether this is just offseason noise or something the Spurs can seriously treat as a path worth exploring. [Read more 🡒]