MAY 13, 8:20am: Following Deveney’s report, Motiejunas took to social media to refute the story, claiming that he and the Rockets resolved their issues a month ago (via Twitter).
“A month ago we with the NBPA and the Houston Rockets found an agreement and solved everything. There are no court proceedings between us. The information which was published on the media is false.”
However, Deveney claims that the National Basketball Players Association explained the matter between Motiejunas and the Rockets differently, indicating that both sides are still engaged in legal proceedings. Motiejunas and the Rockets were seeking an agreement to resolve this matter, but it’s not clear whether they’ve resolved it already or if a settlement is still being finalized.
MAY 12, 3:50pm: After a tumultuous season in which he bounced around three franchises, Donatas Motiejunas is in the midst of legal action against the Rockets and the NBA, Sean Deveney of the Sporting News reports. Sources tell Deveney that the parties could reach a settlement, possibly within the next week.
Motiejunas, who had played for the Rockets since 2012/13, hit restricted free agency last summer but was unable to come to terms on a contract with them or any other suitors. At the time, Motiejunas refused to sign a qualifying offer and that eventually expired.
The Rockets ultimately presented and then pulled an offer they extended at the beginning of the 2016/17 campaign when a deadline they established came and passed in late November with no commitment from Motiejunas’ camp.
Eventually, the big man signed an offer sheet with the Nets in early December worth $35MM over four years, which the Rockets agreed to match. Houston, however, stripped out some of the incentive bonuses that had been included in the Brooklyn offer, a difference of as much as $2MM says Deveney.
When the Rockets and Motiejunas then agreed upon a reworked deal, the center underwent a physical, the results of which prompted Houston to renounce their rights to him, officially making him an unrestricted free agent.
Despite the unrestricted free agency, Motiejunas was unable to procure another offer from the Nets.
In January, as the smoke cleared, Motiejunas signed a deal with the Pelicans where he averaged 3.4 points per game in 34 contests.
This offseason he’ll be a free agent once more and though he has terminated his relationship with his former agent at the Wasserman Group, he could re-sign with them prior to hitting the market.
Basically F’ed that man out of a Big payday smh, because they didn’t wanna pay him, but wanted him on the team
And then when they realized they couldn’t do that and gave up on it they ended up screwing the only team that was really going to pay him and wanted him that much. Super wack I hope he gets something out of the settlement.
Because failing the physical wasn’t part of it, huh? I hope the Rockets countersue.
The Rockets messed up long before the back concerns in his physical (which Houston already knew about, its been a familiar ailment).
Rockets stripped his incentives, if they really wanted him they would have left those. Then after the fact, they dump him? I felt bad for the guy just on a moral level. They basically made things difficult for everyone else for no reason. Rude.
Didn’t he have to pass the Nets physical though??
Karma bit Houston in the ass in the form of Harden’s abysmal game last night
@Connorsoxfan it is true that he would’ve had to pass the Nets physical but most likely, they would’ve passed him aka how Brett Favre got to Green Bay
The physical came months later. He’s entitled to the agreement the Rockets initially made, because that agreement was not contingent on a physical in the first place.