The Rockets issued qualifying offers Saturday to guard Armoni Brooks and forward Anthony Lamb, per Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston.
In his first NBA season after going undrafted out of college, Brooks set a record for the most made 3-pointers (60) over the first 20 games of any NBA player’s career. Overall, the 6-foot-3 guard averaged 11.2 points (38.2% on 3-pointers) and 3.4 rebounds in 26.0 minutes per game.
Meanwhile, Lamb averaged 5.5 points and 2.9 rebounds in 17.3 minutes. Like Brooks, Lamb is 23 years old and was in his debut season. Each is expected to play on Houston’s 2021 summer league team.
Because Brooks and Lamb were two-way contracts in 2020-21, their qualifying offers (QO) are the equivalent of another two-way deal, with a partial guarantee of $50,000. Either can choose to accept it, or they could wait a bit, in hopes of landing a richer proposal in free agency.
However, that’s where the more important implication comes into play. Since Houston issued the QOs, both become restricted free agents, which gives the Rockets the option to match any offer sheet that either may sign with another team and still retain them for the 2021-22 season.
NBA source confirms the #Rockets extended a qualifying offer to former @UHCougarMBK star Armoni Brooks (@snipabrooks_ ),who played in 20 games, averaging 11.2 points. They also extended a qualifying offer to forward Anthony Lamb, who played in 24 games, averaging 5.5 points
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) August 1, 2021
