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As expected, the Houston Rockets have extended the qualifying offers to their restricted free agents, Patrick Beverley and K.J. McDaniels. It's unlikely that either of them accepts the offer, and the Rockets will have the right to match any contract they're offered from another NBA team.
Beverley's QO is for $2.73 million, according to ESPN's Calvin Watkins, and McDaniels' is for $1.05 million. Not a lot is known about the market for either of these two players, so I'd be willing to be Daryl Morey waits to see what kind of offer sheets they sign instead of proactively offering them anything.
Beverley has a leaguewide reputation as a pest, in the best possible sense, but he's also dealt with some injuries, is an average deep shooter and below-average creator and distributor at point guard. He's been valuable for the Rockets and everyone has cap space, it seems, so getting an offer north of $6 or $7 million a year is not outlandish. He's a prime mid-level exception candidate for a capped team like the Bulls.
Dallas, New York, Chicago, Cleveland and, of course, Houston are among the teams interested in Patrick Beverley (@patbev21), per sources.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) June 30, 2015
McDaniels is even harder to pin down. He's just a sophomore, but he was a four-year player in college. He's a defensive menace capable of blocking an inordinate amount of shots for his size, and he has a workable jumper. But he was glued to the bench for the Rockets at the end of the year, and it's hard to look at stats compiled in Philadelphia and compare them to playing anywhere else. The last two years in Philly have done wonders for the egos of basketball also-rans and little else. He could get $5 million a year, he could get no bites. Who knows?
The other big takeaway from the QO is the Rockets can no longer renounce this pair to open up a combined $3 million in cap room. That was always unlikely and risky, but it was a possible avenue for the $10 million or so they would need to open up to sign LaMarcus Aldridge.