Brooklyn Nets offer Donatas Motiejunas 4-year, $37 million deal
The Brooklyn Nets have signed restricted free agent Donatas Motiejunas to a four-year offer sheet, which the Houston Rockets can still match.
Sporting a 5-13 record, the Brooklyn Nets sit at 14th in the Eastern Conference standings. They don’t own their own draft pick until the last movie in the new Star Wars trilogy comes out, their best player is basically trade bait, and they’re really going nowhere until young players like Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Caris LeVert develop.
It makes sense, then, that they’d take their chances in free agency and try out and outbid other suitors for the talents of young, fundamentally sound players to make this transition a little more bearable.
After being foiled twice in restricted free agency over the summer, the Nets are ready to force another team’s hand. According to ESPN’s Marc J. Spears, Brooklyn has offered Donatas Motiejunas — a restricted free agent with the Houston Rockets — a four-year, $37 million deal.
The deal is only guaranteed for two years, per The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Sources on @TheVertical: Nets sign Houston RFA Donatas Motiejunas to 4-year, $37M sheet - guaranteeing only 2 years. https://t.co/veVH3QIXvD
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 3, 2016
As per the rules of restricted free agency in the NBA, the Rockets will have three days to decide whether they want to match that contract to retain D-Mo’s services or let him walk for nothing.
A 26-year-old stretch-4/stretch-5, Motiejunas looked like a young player on the rise as recently as the 2014-15 season. Filling in for the injured Dwight Howard, Motiejunas was huge in helping the Rockets secure the second seed in the West, averaging 12.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game on .504/.368/.602 shooting splits.
Unfortunately, injuries would derail his career (and his 2016 free agency) from there. D-Mo missed the remainder of his breakout season due to a back injury, and he played only 37 games last season for the same reason. He averaged a meager 14.8 minutes per game last year, with his numbers plummeting to 6.2 points and 2.9 rebounds per game on .439/.281/.642 shooting.
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Sandwiched in between that misery was a rescinded trade with the Detroit Pistons in which Houston was unable to move their frequently injured big because he failed Detroit’s physical.
For months now, the front office has been at an impasse in contract negotiations with D-Mo’s people, resulting in a stalemate that has kept him off the court for the 12-7 Rockets that now own the fourth seed in the West.
However, Houston had been offering something in the $8 million range annually, so this may not be too much more than they were originally willing to pay.
Brooklyn and Houston will not have to make any roster decisions while the Motiejunas offer sheet sits. Both teams currently have 15 players.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) December 3, 2016
Mike D’Antoni’s high-powered offense and James Harden playing point guard would make a skilled stretch-big like Motiejunas a natural fit, but there are still obvious concerns about his frequent back problems and the size of this contract. However, Brooklyn was encouraged to move forward with the deal after he was examined by Nets doctors, according to Woj.
The Nets, after watching their four-year, $50 million offer for Tyler Johnson and their four-year, $75 million offer for Allen Crabbe get matched this summer by their respective teams (Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers), are hoping the third time is the charm in restricted free agency.
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Both teams have 15 players on their roster, so whether he ends up on the Nets or stays with the Rockets, someone will need to be waived.