Malcolm Brogdon Reportedly Receives Bucks' Qualifying Offer; Will Be RFA
June 30, 2019
Malcolm Brogdon will be a restricted free agent once the window official opens Sunday at 6 p.m. ET, as the Milwaukee Bucks extended him a qualifying offer, Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes reported late Saturday.
This move was to be expected. ESPN's Zach Lowe reported Friday that the Bucks are "bracing for a monster Brogdon offer sheet" and added Milwaukee has a "walkaway number somewhere."
Offer sheets could come from any number of interested suitors. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst named the Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks as teams that "could consider an offer sheet for Brogdon and test the Bucks."
However, the two reporters hinged the Celtics' interest in Brogdon on their ability to land All-Star free agent point guard Kemba Walker, who ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported earlier Saturday is heading to Boston.
Relevant to Brogdon's viability in the free-agent market is Lowe's note that some interested teams have concern about the 26-year-old reinjuring his foot.
Brogdon was diagnosed with a minor plantar fascia tear in his right foot in March, which held him out for the remainder of the Bucks' regular season. The 6'5", 229-pound guard returned during the postseason—averaging 13.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists in seven games (two starts).
Milwaukee drafted Brogdon out of Virginia in the second round of the 2016 NBA draft. After missing close to half of the 2017-18 season because of a partially torn tendon in his left quadriceps, he posted career-highs in points per game (15.6) and rebounds (4.5) last season.
The Bucks have a tight salary cap entering free agency and decisions to make with Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez both set to become unrestricted free agents.
The Bucks can ill afford to lose Middleton, who was the team's second-leading scorer (18.3 points per game) behind league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (27.7), and as Sporting News' Sean Deveney pointed out at the beginning of this month, Lopez may have "played himself out of Milwaukee's price range" last season.
In other words, it seems all it will take is one team to bet on Brogdon's health and outbid the Bucks to lure him away.