Report: Sixers extend qualifying offer to Rayjon Tucker, making him a restricted free agent

We are now less than 24 hours away from the 2021 NBA free agency period and we got our first bit of Sixers news. Per Keith Smith, the Sixers extended a qualifying offer to Rayjon Tucker, making him a restricted free agent this summer.

For those unfamiliar with this part of the CBA, putting out a qualifying offer makes a player a restricted free agent. As a restricted free agent, Tucker can go out and find offer sheets from other NBA teams. If he finds an offer, the Sixers have a specific amount of time to match and retain Tucker. Otherwise, the Sixers and Tucker can negotiate a new contract entirely or simply sign the qualifying offer — which is a set amount of money over a one-year span which would allow Tucker to be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

This is pretty cool news, at least in my opinion. Rayjon Tucker was one of the two-way prospects this year for the Sixers. He split time between the Sixers and the Delaware Blue Coats; where he put in a solid year averaging 19.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game.

Tucker didn’t see much time with the Sixers this year — only 68 minutes to be exact — but he’s a very intriguing prospect. He’s a well regarded defender with a ton of athleticism. He made a name for himself despite the lack of on-court time in the Sixers’ layup lines where he would put on some pretty impressive dunking displays.

I personally hope the Sixers retain Tucker either on a full-time contract or on another two-way deal; I think he has real talent. There’s only so many roster spots, however, and the Sixers have six free agents in total with Danny Green, Dwight Howard, Furkan Korkmaz, Gary Clark, and Tucker. We’ll see over the next few days how those roster spots shake out.

Liberty Ballers will keep you updated through the madness of free agency. Buckle up, people.