Aussies in the NBA: Utah extends qualifying offer to Joe Ingles

Joe Ingles has been rewarded after an encouraging rookie season in the NBA with a qualifying offer from the Utah Jazz, making him a restricted free agent.

The Utah Jazz will extend G/F Joe Ingles a qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent, The Salt Lake Tribune has learned

— Tony Jones (@Tjonessltrib) June 27, 2015

The 27 year-old found a home in Utah this past season and provided the young team with a veteran voice, even though he was an NBA rookie.

Whilst the Jazz's qualifying offer to Ingles is very low at $1.045 million, a guy that showed potential and a team-orientated mindset may garner some attention from teams around the league. Of course, as a restricted free-agent, Utah have the right to match any offer presented to Ingles.

Ingles has made it clear that he wants to stay in Utah, and Utah want to keep him around - without breaking the bank.

Ingles told the The Salt Lake Tribune:

"I loved my time in Utah last year, I hope it continues on next season. We will see how it all works out."

Slo-Mo Joe enters free agency with somewhat of a chip on his shoulder after being ranked the 178th best free agent by SB Nation's Tom Ziller. There were 179 free agents available entering July 1. A very harsh ranking considering Lance Thomas, Joel Anthony and Ognjen Kuzmic (a man who has scored 35 total points in two seasons with Golden State) are ahead of him.

Ingles joins fellow Australian Matthew Dellavedova as those who have received a qualifying offer. It will be interesting to see how restricted free agency treats these two. Will they remain in Utah and Cleveland respectively, or will another team pry them away with a large contract?