The Indiana Pacers extended a qualifying offer to make Tyler Hansbrough a restricted free agent on the first day of the negotiating period, but on Tuesday pulled the offer, making the reserve forward an unrestricted free agent, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.
NBA free agency: Indiana Pacers pull Tyler Hansbrough’s qualifying offer
Pacers reserve forward Tyler Hansbrough is now an unrestricted free agent.
Mike Ehrmann
It’s unclear why Indiana made the decision. It’s also unknown if it was the team or the player who pushed for the change in direction. The rescinded offer could be connected to the team’s other free agency dealings.
Indy Cornrows: More on the Pacers' offseason
The Pacers came to an agreement with starting power forward David West on Tuesday. The 32-year-old re-signed on a three-year, $36 million deal, according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. Furthermore, Indiana has mutual interest with New York Knicks forward Chris Copeland, Yahoo! reported.
Indiana president of basketball operations Larry Bird was adamant that the Pacers would not go over the luxury tax to keep the roster together, according to The Associated Press. The signing of West and the potential to acquire Copeland might be too much to pay Hansbrough the $4.15 million qualifying offer that was initially put on the table.
Hansbrough averaged 7.0 points and 4.6 assists per game last season, making his presence known on the glass and in bringing Indiana energy off the bench.
More from SB Nation:
See More:
