The Trail Blazers on Tuesday extended qualifying offers to Meyers Leonard, Maurice Harkless and Allen Crabbe, ensuring the three players will be restricted free agents beginning July 1. By extending the qualifying offers, the Blazers reserve the right to match any offer the players receive on the free agent market, which begins July 1. A qualifying offer is 125% of the players’ previous salary.
More on Allen Crabbe Free Agency
The benefit in restricted agency is that Portland controls the process up to a point. Building relationships with agents is one element of a general manager’s job that goes unnoticed by the public. The trust that GM Neil Olshey has built with restricted free agents Meyers Leonard, Allen Crabbe and Maurice Harkless, along with their agents, will be critical.
In the video above, Blazers wing Allen Crabbe – a restricted free agent – talks about Portland's exciting season, his contributions and growth this year, and his upcoming free agency. "Obviously Portland has my rights," Crabbe said Thursday. "(I) definitely wouldn't mind coming back and playing with them next year, but just gonna have to wait and see. ... I think it'll be pretty exciting."
