The Washington Wizards are rescinding their qualifying offer to guard Garrison Mathews, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic. Mathews now becomes an unrestricted free agent.
The qualifying offer was partially guaranteed one-year minimum offer. That would have given the Wizards the rights to match any offer from another team.
However, the Wizards have already reshaped its roster, adding multiple pieces. Washington acquired Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in a trade for Russell Westbrook. The Wizards also landed Spencer Dinwiddie with a three-year, $62 million deal in a sign-and-trade with the Brooklyn Nets. Washington also re-signed Raul Neto.
Through all the moves, the Wizards’ roster is pretty much set. They also are close to the luxury tax line as Katz notes. The Wizards had to trade Chandler Hutchinson to the San Antonio Spurs in the Dinwiddie trade to avoid the luxury tax. Thus, the decision of pulling back Mathews’ qualifying offer isn’t surprising.
Garrison Mathews spent the past two seasons on two-way contracts with the Wizards. Last season, he received an extended look under former head coach Scott Brooks.
Mathews played in 64 games, starting 24 of them. He averaged 5.5 points, shooting 40.9% from the field and 38.4% from three. Now, the 24-year old will get the opportunity to test the waters in hopes of landing a more attractive deal.
