And here you thought Donatas Motiejunas’ return to the Houston Rockets, and the NBA in general, was finally official.
The reunion for Houston and Motiejunas is on hold yet again due to issues with the seven-footer’s physical. Here’s Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle with the latest:
With the Rockets’ planned efforts to return forward/center Donatas Motiejunas to the roster at a standstill, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said talks now involve the NBA in an indication that Motiejunas will not be signed to the contract the sides agreed to on Friday.
“We’re in active discussions with Donatas’ representation, the league office and that’s pretty much it,” Morey said.
Asked the purpose of the talks, Morey said, “A resolution.”Morey would not answer any other questions. When asked whether the Rockets were seeking a resolution in which Motiejunas would or not rejoin the Rockets and whether Motiejunas failed his physical, Morey would only repeat his original statement.
“We’re in active discussions with them and the league office,” Morey said. “We’re in continuous discussions. I can’t really say more. All three parties matter.”
…
The Rockets had hoped to have Motiejunas at Saturday’s game, but the process hit a snag with Motiejunas’ physical.
Motiejunas has originally agreed to a four-year deal with the Rockets that would have paid him anywhere between $31 and $37 million. The contract was, as Feigen noted, non-guaranteed after the first season, which would have afforded the Rockets some additional flexibility had they wished to become free-agency players. It also allowed them to trade Motiejunas before next season without his consent.
This all came after the two sides couldn’t reach a deal over the summer. And then the Brooklyn Nets tendered Motiejunas a four-year, $37 million offer sheet at the beginning of this month. Though the Rockets matched, Motiejunas didn’t show up for his physical, setting the process back to square one.
Which brings us to this deal, the one that apparently won’t be signed.
This whole thing is turning into a cluster-you-know-what and will only get more complicated if it turns out Motiejunas actually failed his physical. So, I guess we can only do what we’ve all been doing since the offseason: sit tight, and stay tuned.
