Rockets, Donatas Motiejunas agree to four-year, $35 million contract
The Houston Rockets and forward Donatas Motiejunas have agreed to a four-year, $35 million contract, a person with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed to Paste BN Sports.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the contract had not yet been announced.
The 26-year-old forward who has played all four of his NBA seasons for the Rockets was originally a restricted free agent, having held out in negotiations with Houston during the offseason and beyond before signing a four-year, $37 million offer sheet from the Brooklyn Nets last week. The Rockets matched Brooklyn's offer, but Motiejunas failed to report to his physical.
Per the terms of this new deal with Houston, $8.3 million is guaranteed. The guarantee date for next season is mid-July.
Under the previous Nets deal, the Rockets would have had to wait until December 2017 to be able to trade Motiejunas. Under the new structure of the deal, however, he can be traded as soon as Houston's season comes to an end.
When healthy, Motiejunas is the kind of versatile big man who fits well into the Rockets’ pace-and-space system. But he endured significant back trouble last season, playing in just 37 games in all while the injury led to the unraveling of a three-team trade in February in which Motiejunas appeared to be headed for the Detroit Pistons.
Motiejunas, who had back surgery in April 2015, has averaged 7.8 points, four rebounds and 19 minutes per game in his career.
The Vertical was first to report the deal.
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