Bulls Rumors: David Nwaba Received Qualifying Offer from Chicago

The Chicago Bulls extended David Nwaba his $1.7 million qualifying offer Thursday, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, making him a restricted free agent this summer. 

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune added: "Bulls make official what has been reported since Nwaba's non-guaranteed contract became guaranteed in January. He fits in rebuild and Bulls hope to re-sign him."

Nwaba, 25, averaged 7.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 23.5 minutes per game in Chicago last season, appearing in 70 contests (21 starts). He shot 47.8 percent from the field, 34.6 percent from three and just 65.5 percent at the charity stripe. 

He established himself as a solid role player, even if his perimeter shooting needs to improve.

As Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "Nwaba showed physicality on defense, at times guarding players five and six inches taller than him, and he has a run-out game perfect for coach Fred Hoiberg’s offense. He's a great spark off the bench."

Mark Schanowski of NBC Sports Chicago added: "John Paxson made it clear on draft night the Bulls want Nwaba back. It will be interesting to see if another team makes an aggressive bid for valuable reserve."

The Bulls will be free to match any offers, though if another team is willing to overpay for Nwaba, will Chicago be able to match? A good chunk of the team's cap space will likely go toward retaining restricted free agent Zach LaVine, and if the Bulls want to have cap flexibility for next summer, they may not be willing to add a few million dollars extra to Nwaba's expected salary. 

More than likely, however, he'll return to the Bulls and serve as a solid rotational player on the wing.