Nearly four weeks into the NBA's 2024/25 league year, only four restricted free agents have yet to agree to a new contract, including one who is finishing up his standard contract.
The unsigned RFA is as follows:
There are several teams with still-available cap space, so one of them (the Pistons or Jazz) could give the Cavaliers a hard time by offering Okoro an offer sheet in the $12 million to $15 million range, but neither team plans to do so. A sign-and-trade to a team over the cap is another possibility, and Fedor acknowledged in a subscriber-only article on Cleveland.com that the Cavaliers have had talks with potential trade partners about a deal, but it doesn't appear that any real progress has been made on that front.
Unless a new suitor looms late in the summer, Okoro may ultimately have to decide whether he wants to make a higher salary in 2024/25 and bet on himself again as an unrestricted free agent in 2025, or whether he wants the stability of a multi-year deal but a smaller first-year salary.
Okoro's impact is limited — even in the “worst case” scenario, he'll be guaranteed $11.8 million next season — while Bates, Toppin and Siebwe have much less impact and are much less attractive options.
Of the 15 players who received a two-way qualifying offer this offseason, only one (Vito Krejci Three Hawks players agreed to standard contracts, two others had their qualifying terms cancelled and nine returned to their teams on new two-way contracts, and the remaining three — Bates, Toppin and Siebwe — will likely eventually have to accept two-way deals as well.
Bates, Toppin and Tshiebwe aren't facing a short-term deadline on whether to accept two-way offers, because the deadline for teams to unilaterally rescind qualifying offers to restricted free agents passed on July 13. They can afford to wait a little longer to make their decisions.
Still, even if they accept each qualifying offer, there's little guarantee on that one-year contract. A two-way player could earn a salary of $578,577 in 2024-25, but his qualifying offer is only partially guaranteed at $77,500.
The Cavs currently have three two-way slots open and the Knicks have two, so I think Bates and Toppin are in a position to stick around for the regular season if they accept their QOs.
Tshiebwe's outlook is less clear. In the last 24 hours, the Pacers filled two of their three two-way vacancies with contracts. Quentin Jackson and Tristen NewtonTshiebwe could take the third slot, but Indiana still has an unsigned second-round pick (Enrique Freeman) could be the front-runner for the eventual two-way spot, according to a report by Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star.
Tshiebwe was named to the All-NBA G League First Team last season and was named G League Rookie of the Year, so he is expected to receive two-way interest from other teams if the Pacers decide they can't afford him.
