- The Rockets are very interested in keeping Donatas Motiejunas, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The Lithuanian power forward has been meeting with the Nets and is expected to receive an offer sheet, possibly by today. Even though Houston pulled its latest offer to Motiejunas last month, the organization will strongly consider matching whatever offer Brooklyn presents. “We’re big fans of Donatas,” said GM Daryl Morey. “We hope to have him at some point this year.”
Kevin Durant has quickly assimilated himself into the Warriors’ offense and his production is comparable to his MVP season in 2013/14, Sam Amick of USA Today points out. Durant is on pace to have the most efficient season of all time for a player averaging at least 25 points a game, Amick notes. The perennial All-Star forward has posted a player efficiency rating of 30.7, higher than the 29.8 PER he had during that MVP season with the Thunder. Unlike the struggles of the Heat’s Big Three during their first season together, the Warriors are already maximizing the talents of Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, as they are taking nearly the same amount of shots, Amick continues. The Warriors are averaging 117.6 points a game, which would make them the most prolific offense since the 1991-92 Warriors, Amick adds.
In other Warriors news:
- First-round pick Damian Jones is unlikely to claim a rotation spot this season, GM Bob Myers said in a radio interview that was relayed on CSNBayArea.com. Jones has been shuttling between the Warriors and the team’s D-League affiliate the past two weeks after recovering from a pectoral injury. The 7-footer out of Vanderbilt has yet to make his NBA debut. He is averaging 2.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks over 19.4 minutes per contest with the Santa Cruz Warriors. “It’s gonna be hard to crack our rotation,” Myers told radio station 95.7 The Game. “He hasn’t played basketball in seven months. He needs to play a lot more basketball. But we’re encouraged.
- Rockets star guard James Harden wasn’t upset that Durant left the Rockets off his list of teams that he visited during free agency last summer, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com writes. “It would have been nice for a visit,” Harden told Watkins. “For himself and his family, he made the decision, and he’s very confident about it.”
- Rick Welts, the team’s Chief Operating Officer, said in a statement the franchise plans to break ground soon on a new arena now that another legal hurdle has been cleared, according to Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com. The California Appeals Court upheld a previous ruling that declared the Environmental Impact Report for the team’s site on San Francisco’s Mission Bay met all required standards. The ruling is likely to be appealed by the Mission Bay Alliance to the California Supreme Court, Poole continues. The Warriors plan to vacate Oracle Arena after the 2018/19 season and move into Chase Center in 2019, Poole adds.
- Second-year Rockets big man Montrezl Harrell is finding his opportunities limited behind Clint Capela and Nene, notes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Circumstances have given Harrell more playing time than usual the past two games, but coach Mike D’Antoni doesn’t expect him to become part of the rotation. “Not that I don’t have confidence in him,” D’Antoni said. “I have a lot of confidence in him. It’s just hard. I want to get Clint up to 30 minutes. Clint is playing as well as anybody on our team. If I get him up to 30, that leaves only 18. Now, you’re trying to split time. Is that nine minutes each, 12 minutes for one guy and six [for the other]? In special circumstances, I wouldn’t hesitate. If we’re a little sluggish, I wouldn’t hesitate … because I think he brings energy and something different. But it’s hard to play three guys in that role if one guy is taking up 30 minutes. It’s almost impossible. It’s not fair to the other two guys, actually.”
- Within the aforementioned piece, Stein discusses the Donatas Motiejunas situation again, citing one source close to the talks who believe the RFA forward isn’t far away from landing a contract. It’s not clear if that contract would be a new deal with the Rockets, an offer sheet from another NBA team, or an agreement with a team overseas.
Spanish guard Sergio Llull remains committed to Real Madrid, stating once again during an interview with COPE radio in Spain that he has no intention of leaving his team in Spain to make the move to the NBA (link via Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype).
“I’m not in the NBA because I’m happy in Madrid,” Llull said. “Houston has been waiting for me three [or] four years.”
The 34th overall pick in the 2009 draft, Llull has been under Rockets control for more than seven years, but has spent that time with Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid. An October report from ESPN’s Marc Stein indicated that Houston planned to push to land Llull for the 2017/18 season, and was optimistic about its chances of bringing him stateside. However, the 29-year-old, who signed an extension with Real Madrid last summer, still doesn’t sound overly eager to play in the NBA.
“They tried to convince me, but I am where I want to be in Madrid,” Llull said. “Houston has been very respectful of my decision. They didn’t pressure me, and congratulate me on my success. I’ve never closed the door on the NBA. I live in the present. … I have a contract with Real Madrid until 2021 and I plan on fulfilling it.”
Although Llull’s current deal runs through 2021, it does include an NBA out, so the Rockets could bring him over sooner than that, if he’s interested. A recent report out of Spain indicated that the buyout for Llull’s contract with Real Madrid had increased to 12 million euros with last year’s extension, but Stein suggested that the buyout isn’t “nearly as onerous” as that report suggests — one of Stein’s sources describes the cost as “manageable.”
In 2015/16, Llull averaged 12.1 PPG and 4.9 APG in Spanish League play, while adding 12.8 PPG and 4.6 APG in 24 Euroleague games. So far this year, playing alongside former NBA vets like Anthony Randolph, Gustavo Ayon, Rudy Fernandez, and Andres Nocioni, Llull has been even better, averaging 13.3 PPG and 6.0 APG in eight Spanish League contests, and 19.4 PPG and 5.8 APG in nine Euroleague games. Real Madrid has a combined record of 14-3 in those games.
After spending last Thanksgiving in China, Phoenix native Alan Williams has landed his “dream job” with the Suns, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. The 23-year-old big man’s quest to play in the NBA started with a 10-day contract with Phoenix in March. He chose the Suns over the Rockets, who were willing to sign him for the remainder of the season. Williams’ gamble paid off when Phoenix gave him a multi-year contract, and his $875K salary for this season became guaranteed in September. He is averaging 6.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game and posted two double-doubles last week. Suns coach Earl Watson believes Williams has a 10-year career ahead.
There’s more news out of Phoenix:
- After seeing almost no action in his first 12 games, Tyler Ulis is becoming a reliable backup point guard, Coro writes in a separate story. The 5’10” rookie has averaged 6.8 points, 2.5 assists and 2.3 steals over the last four games and is making a case to be part of the regular rotation. “I just come in and try to make the most of my minutes,” Ulis said. “Do what coach and the players want me to do. Get guys involved, get paint touches and get into my man defensively.”
- Watson says rookie Dragan Bender has a bright NBA future, but that won’t guarantee playing time right now, Coro adds in the same piece. The Croatian power forward is seeing just 10 minutes per night through the first month of his career. “I think Dragan is going to have amazing opportunities moving forward,” Watson explained. “We understand he’s a big part of our future as a cornerstone. But the NBA is not just as easy as playing guys you like. There’s a lot of things that go into it.”
- Small forward T.J. Warren is out indefinitely with a minor head injury, the Suns announced on their website. Warren left a game on Friday after just nine minutes of action and hasn’t played since. Phoenix GM Ryan McDonough said the organization has a policy of being extra cautious with injuries to the head and estimated Warren will be sidelined “a matter of weeks.” Warren has appeared in 13 games, all starts, and is averaging 17.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per night.
Representatives for Donatas Motiejunas have been contacting teams with cap space in an effort to get an offer for their client, report Marc Stein and Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com.
Because Motiejunas remains a restricted free agent, the Rockets would have the option to match any offer sheet he receives. Motiejunas’ camp believes Houston’s offers haven’t been sufficient based on his performance. If the 26-year-old Lithuanian native decides to play overseas, the Rockets would still retain his NBA rights and could match any deal.
Motiejunas is “surprised and upset” that he is still without a contract nearly five months after free agency began. He could have accepted the Rockets’ $4.4MM qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer, but he let it expire October 1st in anticipation of reaching a long-term deal.
Houston pulled its latest contract offer on Tuesday and will reportedly drop the monetary amount of any future offer. A source told ESPN that if talks resume, the next offer would be at least $1MM smaller for the first season. The Rockets’ last offer reportedly included roughly $7MM in guaranteed first-year salary with team options beyond that. Houston officials considered November 23rd to be an unofficial deadline to reach an agreement because it was the last day Motiejunas could have signed and still been eligible for a trade at the February 23rd deadline.
The Rockets are reluctant to make a long-term commitment to Motiejunas because of his history of back problems. He played just 37 games last season, and a trade to Detroit in February was rescinded after he failed a physical. Second-year forwards Sam Dekker and Montrezl Harrell have filled in for Motiejunas during Houston’s 9-6 start.
The Rockets haven’t cut ties completely with Donatas Motiejunas even though they pulled their latest contract offer today, relays Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston. Speaking to reporters before tonight’s game, coach Mike D’Antoni said he understands the business aspects of Motiejunas’ situation. He added that the Rockets are moving on without the 26-year-old power forward, but will adjust if necessary. “You always move on; we’re not waiting for him,” D’Antoni said. “You try to develop guys and develop roles, and we are doing that. At the same time, he’s that good that if things change we’ll welcome him in.”
1:39pm: According to Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the Rockets gave Motiejunas a November 22 deadline to sign their offer. When that date came and went without any action from Motiejunas, the club told him his value has further decreased.
1:21pm: The Rockets have pulled their most recent offer to Motiejunas off the table, league sources tell Stein (Twitter links). According to Stein, the team’s hopes of getting a deal done with the restricted free agent by the end of the day appear to be fading.
10:08am: Nearly a month into the NBA season, restricted free agent Donatas Motiejunas remains unsigned, but there’s a reason to believe progress could be made today. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter), the Rockets view Wednesday as an unofficial deadline for their negotiations with Motiejunas, since it’s the last day a player can sign a contract and still be trade-eligible later this season. Houston will try to get a deal done today with the free agent forward, says Stein.
NBA rules dictate that when a free agent signs a contract, he can’t be traded until December 15 or three months after the date of his signing, whichever comes later. So any player that signed a new contract after September 15 has a unique date when he becomes eligible to be dealt. Because there are exactly three months until this season’s February 23 trade deadline, any player who signs as a free agent after today can’t be traded until after the season.
The Rockets tendered Motiejunas a qualifying offer worth about $4.4MM back in June. However, the 26-year-old didn’t reach an agreement with Houston or sign an offer sheet with a rival suitor during the offseason, and that qualifying offer expired last month. Motiejunas can no longer sign his one-year QO, but remains a restricted free agent, meaning Houston still has the right of first refusal should he strike a deal with another team.
The most recent report on Motiejunas suggested the Rockets had put a multiyear offer on the table that featured about $7MM in guaranteed first-year salary. The proposal sounded similar to deals signed by RFAs like Tyler Zeller and Festus Ezeli earlier this year — two-year pacts in the $15MM range, with only the first year guaranteed.
Although Motiejunas struggled to stay healthy in 2015/16 and his production took a significant hit, he looked like a player on the rise in 2014/15, when he averaged 12.0 PPG and 5.9 RPG to go along with a .504 FG% and a .368 3PT%. He has been plagued by back troubles in recent years, creating some long-term uncertainty about his health and limiting his market.
If the Rockets and Motiejunas don’t reach an agreement today, the team could still sign him at any time, but there would be no clear timeline for a deal to get done.
- Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy lavished praise on the Rockets‘ coaching staff, singling out assistant Jeff Bzdelik and suggesting Mike D’Antoni‘s influence on James Harden has had a huge impact on the club. Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle has the details and quotes.