Houston Rockets restricted free-agent Donatas Motiejunas was a no-show for his final physical with the team after they matched a four-year, $37 million offer sheet from the Brooklyn Nets on Monday afternoon, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
This was the final step before both sides put pen to paper and made the deal final. The Rockets had waived guard Bobby Brown in anticipation of the 7-footer joining their 15-man roster.
Houston and Motiejunas' representatives are discussing the next steps, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. He has two days to show for his physical, if not, the team could leave the current deal on the table or negate it and return him to restricted free-agency, since a no-show or a failed physical could nix the offer, per contract terms. The team could also waive the physical, but it's highly unlikely to happen given that it's the one thing keeping the ink from drying on his deal, according to ESPN's Calvin Watkins.
If he goes back to his restricted free agent status, the Nets could not sign him for another year due to the RFA offer clause of only one offer per player per season.
Head coach Mike D'Antoni told Watkins that this is a business, and he'd be willing to welcome the big man with open arms if the deal goes through.
This situation is as nightmarish as it gets, and likely unnecessarily so, since it isn't guaranteed that Motiejunas would be a big part of the Rockets' rotation going forward. The Lithuanian international would have had a beefier contract that would pay him $9.25 million per year, but only $5 million of guaranteed money as the contract is set up with plenty of “trigger dates” to ensure the team little financial risk with the signing.
To make things simpler, the deal basically asks Motiejunas to bet on himself and his health. If he performs and stays healthy, the team has an option to give him another year and he can possibly be extended to an even larger contract after two years.
So far, the signing of Motiejunas has been more of a headache for more than one NBA team, and after this fiasco, it looks much more unlikely for other teams to reach out and make an offer for the versatile big man.
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