Isaiah Thomas will officially hit the open market as a restricted free agent. The Sacramento Kings announced Thursday morning that they’ve extended a qualifying offer to the 25-year-old point guard.
In three seasons with the Kings, Thomas has outperformed all expectations since being selected with the last pick of the 2011 NBA Draft. The 25-year-old point guard averaged career-bests in points (20.3), assists (6.3), steals (1.3) and field-goal percentage (45.3 percent) this past season.
The move to extend Thomas a qualifying offer was first confirmed by general manager Pete D’Alessandro in April. The Kings will now likely let the market dictate what the third-year point guard is worth and decide whether to match or let him walk when free agency begins next month.
“In accordance with the league’s collective bargaining agreement, in order for a team to retain its right of first refusal with respect to a restricted free agent, the team must tender the player a qualifying offer prior to June 30,” the press release announcing Thomas’ qualifying offer says. “A restricted free agent may sign an offer sheet with any team, but is subject to a right of first refusal with the team for which the player last played.”
According to Storytellers.info’s NBA salary database, Thomas’ qualifying offer is worth an estimated $1.1 million. Thomas signed a minimum salary deal worth approximately $1.2 million over three years after he was drafted in 2011.
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