Pelicans decline qualifying offer on forwards Cheick Diallo, Stanley Johnson

The Pelicans declined to extend qualifying offers to forwards Cheick Diallo and Stanley Johnson ahead of the open of NBA free agency.

New Orleans is declining the qualifying offer on Cheick Diallo, which will make him an unrestricted free agent, league sources tell ESPN. Diallo, 22, adds another quality young big to the marketplace next week.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 26, 2019

Sources: The Pelicans have declined to extend a qualifying offer to forward Stanley Johnson, making him an unrestricted free agent. Johnson, 23, is a strong defender and will receive interest from several teams. Allows Pelicans to now have upwards of $28M in open space.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 27, 2019

New Orleans exercised Jahlil Okafor’s team option and drafted a pair of frontcourt players, Zion Williamson and Jaxson Hayes, making the 22-year old Diallo an unsurprising casualty on an evolving roster. The 23-year old Johnson came over in a midseason trade with the Detroit Pistons but failed to make much of an impact despite the lack of wing depth in New Orleans.

Diallo, a former second round pick out of Kansas, averaged 6.0 points and 5.2 rebounds on 62 percent shooting in 64 games last season. Johnson averaged 6.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in 2018-19.