The Portland Trail Blazers will not extend a qualifying offer to Eric Maynor, which will make the reserve point guard an unrestricted free agent on July 1, according to the Oregonian.
Blazers allow Eric Maynor to become unrestricted free agent
Portland bolstered their backcourt depth in the draft, making Eric Maynor expendable heading into next season.
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Joe Freeman reports that the money required for a qualifying offer to Maynor just doesn’t add up for the Blazers’ plans this offseason:
It has long been assumed the team would allow Maynor to become an unrestricted free agent because his qualifying offer would have carried a hefty $5.85 million salary cap hold, eating away roughly half of Olshey’s offseason spending power. But it also has been assumed the Blazers would try to resign Maynor regardless of his free agent status - after season-ending exit interviews, both sides expressed a desire for a reunion.
Portland likely sealed Maynor's fate with the Blazers on Draft Night when they acquired combo guard C.J. McCollum, who can fill the role of backup to starter Damian Lillard at a much cheaper price. The situation is similar to the one Maynor faced in Oklahoma City when the Thunder brought in Reggie Jackson, which reduced Maynor's role and eventually led to his move to Portland in a trade deadline deal.
While in Portland, Maynor played around 21 minutes per game off the bench, averaging seven points and four assists in his 27 games with the Blazers. Maynor’s play in Portland will surely have other teams interested in his services.
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