Lost in the chaos created by the Dejounte Murray trade was an interesting piece of news. Hours before the deadline to do so, the Spurs tendered qualifying offers to Lonnie Walker IV and Joe Weiskamp, making them restricted free agents.
To understand why the Spurs did that despite not likely having either young wing in their future plans it’s necessary to know what restricted free agency is. It essentially allows the team that holds the rights to a player the right of first refusal, which means the ability to match any offer sheet that player signs. Getting that power involves very little commitment, as the offer tendered is only for one year and can be rescinded unilaterally at any time before July 13.