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2022 Free Agents - Jordan Nwora

Summary
Nwora was known as one of the better shooters coming out of the 2020 draft after shooting over 40% during his three-year stint at Louisville. He  has shot decently for the Bucks over his first two seasons, hitting 37% from three.

Nwora has also shown a little bit of off-the-dribble game, at least to the point where he can attack a hard closeout, but he isn't much of a passer. He has nice touch on floaters, and finishes decently at the rim. While he's not that athletic, he does have decent size at the wing.

If he can hit shots at a high rate and survive on defense, he could be a solid rotation-level player, even if he is mostly dependent on others creating open shots for him. Nwora's minutes declined over the course of the season as the Bucks got healthier, and was out of the rotation in the playoffs.

Nwora could be an intriguing young-ish player for some teams, especially considering the Bucks are already expensive and would likely not be able to retain Nwora on anything much above the minimum. He is a on the slightly older side since he spent four years in college, as he will already be close to 24 when he hits free agency in 2022.
 
Cap Considerations
Nwora will be a restricted free agent with a $2 million cap hold and Qualifying Offer, and the Bucks will have his Early Bird rights. However, the Bucks may not tender him a QO, which would make him an unrestricted free agent.

If the Bucks re-sign Nwora using the Early-Bird Exception, they could offer him a starting salary of up to 105% of the average salary this past season (roughly $10.9 million), which would be more than enough.

Since Nwora will only have two years of service, he will be subject to the Gilbert Arenas provision. This means that any offer sheet he signs with a team besides Milwaukee can have a starting maximum salary of $10.3 million, but the third and potentially fourth years of that contract can have a large jump (up to the max). His cap hit would then be the average salary over the life of the contract.

If the Bucks match his offer sheet, they could choose for his cap hit to either be his actual salary per season or the average over the life of the contract, provided the average fits within the Early Bird Exception or cap space.

I do not expect the Arenas provision to come into play for Nwora, as I think any offers for him would fit within the full Non-Taxpayer MLE over the length of the contract. It's also possible that Nwora will be an unrestricted free agent with only minimum offers.

Potential Teams: Bucks, Bulls, Cavaliers, Knicks, Magic

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $2 million with the Bucks

Actual Contract: 2-year, $6.2 million ($200k likely incentives per year) with the Bucks

Nwora got slightly more than the minimum I projected him for, getting $6.2 million, with $200k per year in likely bonuses for making the 2nd round.

Last updated: 10/1/2022

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