I’m not convinced it would be a bad idea. I’ll be surprised if Neil doesn’t extend the QO because he and his Bird Rights can be used in a trade for salary filler. That $7 million expiring contract is valuable to make trades with teams also over the cap, which is pretty much everyone with players worth trading for to upgrade the roster.
Thinking about it, it would be bad business to let that asset go if there are trades to be made. I’m sure when Neil offers it people will freak out but in terms of roster flexibility, it’s the best decision to be made. It’s a valuable contract even if he isn’t a valuable player because the team who would get him in a trade has the option to keep him if they choose to do so, or he’s $7 million gone.
Neil needs all the chips he can use to make deals and Zach’s QO contract is one of them. If you let him walk, that one less chip.