Donatas Motiejunas refuses to report to Rockets

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/donatas-motiejunas-refuses-to-report-to-rockets-184000511.html




Donatas Motiejunas refuses to report to Rockets



Adrian Wojnarowski,Yahoo Sports US


21 hours ago




Donatas Motiejunas has played four seasons with the Rockets. (Getty Images)
Donatas Motiejunas has played four seasons with the Rockets. (Getty Images)





After the Houston Rockets matched the Brooklyn Nets’ offer sheet and retained restricted free agent Donatas Motiejunas, the 7-footer is refusing to report for his physical exam and return to the team.

“We won’t be reporting,” agent B.J. Armstrong of Wasserman Media Group told The Vertical.

Armstrong informed Rockets general manager Daryl Morey of the decision on Tuesday morning.

The move comes less than 24 hours after the Rockets matched the base of a four-year, $31 million offer sheet. Houston had been expecting Motiejunas, 26, to show up on Tuesday morning to undergo and pass a physical exam needed to sign and activate him. Motiejunas refused and has no intention of rejoining the Rockets, Armstrong said.

If Motiejunas continues to stay away, the Rockets have two options: leave open the current agreement and wait him out, or cancel the deal and return Motiejunas to restricted free agency. Under league rules, the Nets are unable to sign Motiejunas for a full year.

The Nets signed Motiejunas to a partially guaranteed four-year deal that could’ve been worth $35 million. The $4 million-plus in attainable bonus clauses in the Nets’ offer sheet weren’t applicable in the Rockets’ match. Ultimately, the base deal that Motiejunas would have had with Houston was worth $31 million if the Rockets picked up every option over the course of the four-year deal.

Once Motiejunas was unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension with the Rockets this summer, he could’ve signed a $4.4 million qualifying offer, played out the season and become an unrestricted free agent in July.

The deal had guaranteed Motiejunas $5 million, with the Rockets having to decide by Jan. 10 whether to pay him another $3.5 million for the remainder of the 2016-17 season.

By March 1, Houston had to pick up the option for $9 million owed to Motiejunas for the 2017-18 season. The final two years of the contract are non-guaranteed, which means the team can cut Motiejunas without paying the balance of the contract. Before the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, there’s a July 10 trigger date to make a decision on Motiejunas’ deal.

For now, Motiejunas is rejecting those terms and moving himself into limbo again. Concerns over recurring back issues – which included surgery to repair a ruptured disk in 2015 – impacted the interest NBA teams had in signing Motiejunas to an offer sheet over the summer.

For the Nets, this was the third restricted free agent offer sheet executed under new general manager Sean Marks that had been matched after July offers to Portland guard Allen Crabbe (four years, $75 million) and Miami guard Tyler Johnson (four years, $50 million). Brooklyn had nothing to lose with the offer sheet on Motiejunas.

The Rockets had a three-way trade that would’ve sent Motiejunas to Detroit voided last season. The Pistons’ doctors failed Motiejunas on his physical exam because of the back.




bob
MY NOTE:  Pretty ballsy for a player that flunked a physical.  He must REALLY hate Houston and D'Antoni (or Harden). He wants playing time, which he would get on the abysmal Nyets, but isn't getting on the Rockets.

I haven't watched him play much, because he doesn't play much (especially this year) but I see him as another Kelly. A slightly better rebounder, but not much better, a much worse frito shooter and a significantly worse assist-to-turnover ratio.

Motiejunas last season
15.1 points/36mpg
50.4 fg%
36.8 3pt fg%, 2.4 3pt fgas/36mpg
7.4 rebs/36mpg
2.3asts, 2.2TOs /36mpg
60% ft%


Olynyk THIS season
14.2 points/36mpg
48.0 fg%
39.1 3pt fg%, 5.1 3pt fgas/36mpg
6.7 rebs/36mpg
2.8 asts, 2.2TOs /36mpg
83% ft%

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/motiedo01.html


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http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/244297/Rockets-Renounce-Rights-To-Donatas-Motiejunas



Rockets Renounce Rights To Donatas Motiejunas


DEC 15, 2016 6:31 PM


The Houston Rockets have renounced their rights to Donatas Motiejunas and he'll become an unrestricted free agent.

Motiejunas and the Rockets hit another snag last weekend following his physical after the two sides were able to agree upon a revised four-year deal.


The initial deal Motiejunas signed with the Brooklyn Nets in restricted free agency worth as much as $37 million over four seasons was discarded after it became a four-year, $31 million deal with the Rockets.

The Rockets could have failed Motiejunas on his physical to keep him a restricted free agent but they instead have given him the opportunity to sign with another team beyond the Nets.



bob
MY NOTE:  This is interesting.  So, a RFA who does not want his option to be picked up by his club can thwart the CBA by just not showing up and compelling the team to renounce him and thereby become an UFA.  I wonder if we'll see this happen again with other players now.  I can almost guarantee the wheels are turning in Danny's head right now.  Kelly will be a restricted free agent this summer.  Both sides agreed to not sign an extension.  I have not heard Kelly is unhappy with his role on the team or Brad but...


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This is a very interesting situation. This guy may have found a loophole in the free agency system.

I am sure the that NBA will want to close the loophole as quickly as possible.