Donatas Motiejunas’ foray into restricted free agency didn’t go as planned.
Not only did the Houston Rockets fail to offer him a contract he deemed acceptable, but he hasn’t gotten one from another team, otherwise, you know, he’d be playing in the NBA. But that seems like it’s about to change.
According to the Houston Chronicle‘s Jonathan Feigen, the Brooklyn Nets are making a push for Motiejunas—one that may ultimately force the Rockets to be more aggressive in their pursuit of his return:
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has been told to expect to receive an offer sheet, possibly as soon as Friday. Motiejunas had met with the Brooklyn Nets this week and had been examined by their team physicians as the Nets prepare an offer sheet.
Morey, however, said that the expiration of his offer to Motiejunas would not preclude matching an offer sheet to keep Motiejunas. He has not been given an indication about what the Nets’ offer will be.
“We’re big fans of Donatas,” Morey said. “We hope to have him at some point this year.
“It’s our understanding he will probably sign something in the next day. We won’t know until it’s official. We don’t know how much it will be.”
It’s interesting that the Nets are showing interest in Motiejunas, since it’s going to take a long-term commitment to wrap him up. And the money will have to be substantial if they’re hoping Houston doesn’t match. The Nets already have two stretchy bigs in Brook Lopez and Justin Hamilton, so maybe they are prepping themselves for a Lopez trade.
Or maybe they’re just acting like a team that’s bereft of draft picks and free-agent appeal, and are instead just trying to get their hands on all they assets they can. Motiejunas profiles as a stretch 5 who can play some interior defense, and if he’s healthy, he could end up being a nice trade chip down the line.
Either way, it seems like Motiejunas is finally on his way back to the NBA. It’s just a matter of where that return will come, Houston or Brooklyn.
