In the wake of signing Spanish guard Alex Abrines on Monday, the Oklahoma City Thunder rescinded guard Dion Waiters' qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent, the team confirmed to ESPN.
The move was first reported by The Vertical.
Waiters was tendered a $6.8 million qualifying offer before free agency opened July 1, but the Thunder have pulled that, removing their ability to match any offer sheet he receives. Waiters could have accepted the qualifying offer at any point, and it would have become a guaranteed one-year deal.
The Thunder did not renounce Waiters, however, meaning they retain his Bird rights as well as his $12.8 million cap hold. The moment Waiters signs elsewhere -- which likely will happen sooner than later now that he's unrestricted -- that cap hold comes off the Thunder's books.
The Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers have been interested in Waiters since free agency opened.
As the Thunder recover from the departure of Kevin Durant, they are prioritizing flexibility. With Waiters no longer part of their long-term picture, the Thunder can use the forthcoming increase in cap space to work on a possible renegotiated extension for Russell Westbrook.
Waiters, 24, was selected fourth overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2012 and traded to the Thunder in a three-team deal in January 2015.