Spurs tender qualifying offers to Sandro Mamukelashvili and David Duke Jr.
Spurs tender qualifying offers to Sandro Mamukelashvili and David Duke Jr.
In the last leg of the NBA season, the San Antonio Spurs gave their younger, end of the bench players a chance to play big minutes. No player benefitted more from that stretch of playing time than Sandro Mamukelashvili. In April, Mamu averaged 11.6 points and 9.7 rebounds while shooting 38.5% from deep. On Saturday, the Spurs made the first step toward bringing him back in free agency.
San Antonio has tendered qualifying offers for Mamukelashvili and David Duke Jr., making them restricted free agents. As RFAs, opposing teams will be able to offer contracts to both players, but the Spurs have the right to match those offers. If an agreement is not made with the Spurs or another team, the players would accept the qualifying offer of $2.7 million for Mamu and $1.9 million for Duke Jr. Dominick Barlow is also eligible for restricted free agency, but there has been no news about the Spurs tendering his deal.
Duke Jr. played on a two-way contract for the Spurs last season. He appeared in just 4 games for San Antonio in which he averaged 6.5 points and hit 50% of his threes. He spent most of his time with the Austin Spurs (34 games) where he averaged 19.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and shot 37.7% from three. The Spurs are still able to bring Duke Jr. back on a two-way contract next season. They did the same with Barlow last offseason.
Mamukelashvili showcased some nice synergy with Victor Wembanyama last season. He played well as a cutter, passer and floor spacer next to the big man. He also showed some grit on the glass. Mamu has some deficiencies defensively, but played well enough on the offensive end to earn himself another contract in San Antonio. Duke Jr. would provide the Spurs with another physical off-guard who can be a depth piece.
The NBA free agency period begins on Sunday, June 30th at 5 p.m. CT. Teams will be able to negotiate contracts with all players starting at that time. Players cannot sign contracts until July 6th at 11:01 p.m. CT.