Update: Motiejunas now a UFA as Rockets have released his rights

Post #121 » by **Smitty731** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:22 pm

Houston would have to agree to void the deal for him to be able to sign elsewhere. Not sure they'll do that. They have a physical on file from as recently as the end of last season. Not sure Motiejunas could have gotten all that much worse since then health-wise. They can afford to wait him out to some extent.

RightToCensor · Post #122 » by **RightToCensor** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:24 pm

BJ Armstrong is gonna really screw over the entire league if he gets D-Mo out his deal. I'm not a advocate for blacklisting people from the NBA, but BJ has done enough damage in both the reputation of players and the rules of the CBA.

RightToCensor · Post #123 » by **RightToCensor** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:28 pm

I really hope this isn't the case

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RightToCensor · Post #124 » by **RightToCensor** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:30 pm

I don't know what D-Mo is fighting for

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Spoiler:

Post #125 » by **bondom34** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:32 pm

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RightToCensor · Post #126 » by **RightToCensor** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:34 pm

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RightToCensor · Post #127 » by **RightToCensor** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:38 pm

If you sign an offer sheet as a RFA then you should whole-heartily know that Houston has all the right to match the deal. The loophole B.J. is trying to exploit needs to be dealt with very soon and very swiftly.

Post #128 » by **pacers33granger** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:40 pm

RightToCensor wrote:

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What's the point? Philly and Denver could make a similar offer the Nets did, but neither team needs any bigs and certainly does not need this headache. Utah could too, but again, they have zero reason. So is the end game to get someone else to offer a deal that pays him less, have Morey match again, and refuse to report again until Morey gives in? Even if that were possible, no way the league is ok with that.

Post #129 » by **yosemiteben** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:43 pm

What exactly is DMo's plan here? Presumably he got the highest offer the market would bear. Does he think HOU will not match a lower offer?

K_chile22 · Post #130 » by **K_chile22** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:43 pm

RightToCensor wrote:If you sign an offer sheet as a RFA then you should whole-heartily know that Houston has all the right to match the deal. The loophole B.J. is trying to exploit needs to be dealt with very soon and very swiftly.

Does he know what the bargaining agreement is? By agreeing to be an NBA player he is agreeing to the terms that led him to this situation. There is no rights for him to fight for. It sucks for Dmo. Definitely sucks. But he and his agent are in the wrong here

Post #131 » by **HartfordWhalers** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:45 pm

RightToCensor wrote:If you sign an offer sheet as a RFA then you should whole-heartily know that Houston has all the right to match the deal. The loophole B.J. is trying to exploit needs to be dealt with very soon and very swiftly.

I'm not seeing a loophole here. You cannot force a player to take a physical or show up against their wishes, rfa or not.
Houston can just keep the deal but suspend him without pay. Philly had AK refuse to show up and had to do that.

Post #132 » by **Smitty731** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:45 pm

It is all well and good for Motiejunas and Armstrong to want to fight this, but the CBA is clear. If they wanted something different, they should have waited until the next CBA and seen if RFA rules changed. Or both should have lobbied harder to get it changed.

Armstrong can say his client has rights, but the rules are the rules and they are the same for all. No one says Motiejunas has to play in the NBA. There are other leagues he can go to if he doesn't like the way it works. His challenge now is that FIBA will almost assuredly not allow him to sign elsewhere because he now has a binding NBA deal.

No matter what happens this is a mess. The guy I feel for is Bobby Brown. He got waived and caught up in the mess when he didn't do anything. Tough break for him.

Post #133 » by **Trader_Joe** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:47 pm

Any disappointment I had about not getting this guy has vanished. He and BJ are being brats.

Post #134 » by **Smitty731** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:47 pm

HartfordWhalers wrote:
RightToCensor wrote:If you sign an offer sheet as a RFA then you should whole-heartily know that Houston has all the right to match the deal. The loophole B.J. is trying to exploit needs to be dealt with very soon and very swiftly.

I'm not seeing a loophole here. You cannot force a player to take a physical or show up against their wishes, rfa or not.
Houston can just keep the deal but suspend him without pay. Philly had AK refuse to show up and had to do that.

This is basically it. The Rockets are going to be in a tough spot with their cap tied up (not that this year matters much anyway on that side) and they'll have to suspend him. They aren't going to let him go back to being a RFA.

Post #135 » by **Smitty731** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:51 pm

As far as Armstrong and Motiejunas challenging the RFA system, I'm all for it. But this isn't the way to do it. They needed to do it through the CBA negotiations.

In a lot of respects, it is ridiculous that if you draft a player, you can essentially control that player for 8-9 years of his career. For most guys that is more than half of professional lives. Sure, a player can sign the QO and play it out that way, but that isn't necessarily realistic for most guys. It is a system that needs tweaking. This just isn't the way to fight it.

RightToCensor · Post #136 » by **RightToCensor** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:51 pm

yosemiteben wrote:What exactly is DMo's plan here? Presumably he got the highest offer the market would bear. Does he think HOU will not match a lower offer?

I wouldn't classify anything going on as D-Mo's plan, it's more of his agent B.J. Armstrong.

This isn't the sole reason, but is just an update I wanted to post.

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Post #137 » by **BullyKing** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:51 pm

Smitty731 wrote:It is all well and good for Motiejunas and Armstrong to want to fight this, but the CBA is clear. If they wanted something different, they should have waited until the next CBA and seen if RFA rules changed. Or both should have lobbied harder to get it changed.

Armstrong can say his client has rights, but the rules are the rules and they are the same for all. No one says Motiejunas has to play in the NBA. There are other leagues he can go to if he doesn't like the way it works. His challenge now is that FIBA will almost assuredly not allow him to sign elsewhere because he now has a binding NBA deal.

No matter what happens this is a mess. The guy I feel for is Bobby Brown. He got waived and caught up in the mess when he didn't do anything. Tough break for him.

Yeah, I'm really struggling to understand D-Mo's position here. Seems like he is just getting horrible advice from BJ Armstrong. Wonder what other players think and if it will impact BJ going forward.

I assume the Rockets will just resign Brown so it shouldn't much of a harm.

TKainZero · Post #138 » by **TKainZero** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:52 pm

There can be a million writers writing a billion scripts and nothing can match the real life tension and drama that is reallly happen in the backstage of the NBA.

D-MO and the RFA drama are quite a story

RightToCensor · Post #139 » by **RightToCensor** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:55 pm

There you go.

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Post #140 » by **Smitty731** » Tue Dec 6, 2016 6:56 pm

BullyKing wrote:
Smitty731 wrote:It is all well and good for Motiejunas and Armstrong to want to fight this, but the CBA is clear. If they wanted something different, they should have waited until the next CBA and seen if RFA rules changed. Or both should have lobbied harder to get it changed.

Armstrong can say his client has rights, but the rules are the rules and they are the same for all. No one says Motiejunas has to play in the NBA. There are other leagues he can go to if he doesn't like the way it works. His challenge now is that FIBA will almost assuredly not allow him to sign elsewhere because he now has a binding NBA deal.

No matter what happens this is a mess. The guy I feel for is Bobby Brown. He got waived and caught up in the mess when he didn't do anything. Tough break for him.

Yeah, I'm really struggling to understand D-Mo's position here. Seems like he is just getting horrible advice from BJ Armstrong. Wonder what other players think and if it will impact BJ going forward.

I assume the Rockets will just resign Brown so it shouldn't much of a harm.

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Jared Dudley in response to me, has some pretty strong feelings. And Dudley is a respected guy around the league.