Wolves Extend Offers to Gomes, Richard and Smith

The Wolves announced Monday that the team has extended qualifying offers to restricted free agents Ryan Gomes, Chris Richard and Craig Smith.

In related news, Sebastian Telfair and Kirk Snyder will both become unrestricted free agents after the June 30 deadline. That doesn't mean the Wolves can't sign either player to respective deals ... But if another team makes an offer to Telfair and Snyder that the Wolves choose to match, neither player is obligated to re-sign with Minnesota.

In contrast, now that the Wolves have made qualifying offers to Gomes, Richard and Smith, Minnesota can match any other offer received by those three players, and the Providence, Florida and Boston College products would be obligated to take Minnesota's offer.

Here's why:

Per the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, qualifying offers must be tendered on or before June 30 in order for a team to retain its right of first refusal regarding a restricted free agent. Restricted free agents have the option of signing an offer sheet with any team in the league, but that offer is dependent upon the original team's right of first refusal. That's why the Wolves have seven days to exercise that right and match the terms and conditions of any offer extended to the players to whom they've extended offers.

All teams are allowed to begin negotiating with free agents on Tuesday, July 1, but players cannot sign free-agent contracts until Wednesday, July 9.

Gomes, a 6-7 forward who came to the Wolves in last summer's six-player trade with Boston, averaged career highs in points (12.6), rebounds (5.8), and assists (1.8) in 2007-08 for the Wolves. Playing in all 82 games for the Wolves (starting 74), Gomes shot 45.7 percent from the floor and 83.0 percent from the foul line while logging 29.7 minutes per game. He blew up for 35 points with 11 rebounds against Golden State on Jan. 21, and had 10 games of 20-plus points. Minnesota won 11-of-18 games in which he scored 15-plus points.

The 6-9 Richard appeared in 52 games in limited fashion during his rookie year, averaging 1.9 points and 2.6 boards, and he averaged 13.9 rebounds per 48 minutes in 10 April outings. Richard averaged a double-double (10.2 points, 11.5 rebounds) in six D-League games for the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Smith, a 6-7 forward entering his third year in the NBA, has averaged 8.4 points and 4.8 boards per game on 54.8 percent shooting in two seasons after being selected 36th overall. Smith exploded for a career-high 36 points on Dec. 11 at Washington, and would have ranked 7th in the NBA in field-goal percentage had he not missed qualifying for the NBA's minimum shot requirement after missing the season's final four games.