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Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
2022 Free Agents - Vlatko Cancar
Summary
Cancar has not shown much during his first three seasons in the league, playing just over 350 total minutes of non-garbage time, according to Cleaning the Glass. He has shot well from two thanks to solid finishing at the rim, but hasn't shot well from three at only 32%, but the overall sample size is small enough that it's hard to take too much from that. He did shoot better in his 10 G-League games in '19-'20, hitting 39% of his threes.
Overall it's hard to see how Cancar provides value. He isn't the most athletic player, and doesn't do much else other than shoot, so his inability to hit shots at a high rate is even more discouraging. I would be surprised if Cancar gets any guaranteed money as a free agent in 2022, but it's possible that the Nuggets just like him enough to keep him around.
Cap Considerations
Cancar will be a restricted free agent with full Bird rights and a $2.2 million cap hold and Qualifying Offer. However, the Nuggets most likely will not tender him a QO, making him an unrestricted free agent. If a player has a smaller cap hold than his starting salary, his team can use cap space to sign-free agents before using Bird Rights to re-sign its own free agents. Since the Nuggets will likely not have cap room, Cancar's cap hold will not play a factor.
Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Cancar as even teams without cap space could use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, or BAE to sign him to an offer sheet or outright as an unrestricted free agent. It's also likely that Cancar ends up settling for the minimum, and may not even get fully-guaranteed offers.
However, Cancar being a restricted free agent would lower his interest among teams, as they will worry that the only way to pry him away from Denver would be to overpay him. Most likely though, Cancar will be an unrestricted free agent with only minimum offers.
Potential Teams: Nuggets, Magic, Thunder, Jazz, Knicks
Predicted Contract: 1-year, $1.9 million (non-guaranteed) with the Nuggets
Actual Contract: 3-year, $6.8 million (3rd year team option) with the Nuggets
The Nuggets continue their strange fascination with Cancar (he also shares an agent with Nikola Jokic), as Cancar gets a 3-year deal for slightly more than the minimum.
Last updated: 7/10/2022
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