The Houston Rockets plan to hold restricted free agent Donatas Motiejunas to his current offer sheet of a four-year, $37 million contract indefinitely.
The Rockets will hold Donatas Motiejunas to the offer sheet he signed and they matched, rather than returning him to RFA status, per source.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) December 8, 2016
His agent, BJ Armstrong had previously mentioned “We have our rights. We're not going to show up. We'll see what happens. We'll see what the Rockets do,” according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
It's not the first time that Armstrong has used these type of holdout tactics for his client, but this isn't the NFL and in truth, his strategy is hurting his client more than it's benefitted him.
By holding him to his contract, the Rockets can basically hold Motiejunas hostage until March 1, as he would be unable to sign with any other team for as long as he's under contract. His options are pretty simple — pass the physical and let the ink dry or re-negotiate with the team.
Stop me if you've heard that story before.
Motiejunas could undergo a physical anytime between now and March 1. If he passes, he’d join the Rockets on the terms of his matched offer sheet. If he fails, he’d go to the Brooklyn Nets on the original offer-sheet terms, which are $6 million in bonuses apart.
The qualifying offer will expire on March 2, when the Lithuanian international will no longer be eligible to sign an offer sheet with another team. He’d still be allowed to re-sign with Houston, though.
In the event that does not happen, he’ll re-enter free agency next summer, when the Rockets could again make him restricted, and the process will recycle itself yet again, except the Nets can’t sign him for one year after his offer sheet expires.
This is the NBA version of a trap girlfriend. The reason why this isn't seen very much is because most agents and players stir away from this type of behavior during negotiations, it doesn't serve a benefit for anybody.
In a league where there's more untapped talent than money to go around, the team usually holds the power in these situations and the Rockets are proving just that. Before a negotiation starts, there needs to be the flexibility and willingness to negotiate.
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