Rockets match Nets offer for Donuts (Updte Pg 17: Offer Pulled, DMo UFA)

[bondom34]

Daryl Morey and Sam Hinkie do bad things for basketball - as Warren Buffett said 'Beware of geeks bearing formulas.'

Both of these guys are/were great GMs.

[HankMoody69]

Dmo says, that it wasn't for medical reasons.

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Strange situation... In my eyes all sides lost(player, Rockets, Nets, CBA) and you can't call somebody the winner. Feel sorry for Dmo, player, who loves basketball and can't play.

[M4P]

Cliffs:
- BJ Armstrong is a horrible NBA agent
- There's something wrong with DMo
- The Rockets are a vindictive, cutthroat organization hell-bent on screwing players


There's obviously something wrong with DMo's back. No organization would renounce the rights to what was a promising young prospect for no apparent reason other to stick it to him. Going by the logic of the conspiracy theorists and outsider's looking in -- if Morey and the Rockets truly treated their players purely as assets with no attachments, DMo would have simply been voided for health related concerns. Instead, the Rockets have been nothing but accommodating, and have gone as far as trying to negotiate with the league to send DMo back to the Nets for what he originally signed on for.

If DMo was healthy and truly wanted to maximize his earning potential, he could have easily taken the QO and sign on with the plethora of teams under the cap next year. Instead, he signed way below market value for a mobile 7 footer who can hit a 3 and play inside. With all things considered, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that he's trying to grab as much guaranteed money as possible before he gets outed.

[jamalkandur]

The guy is a fraud, he tries to hide his injuries and grab most money. Detroit, Houston, all the doctors lie and dude is the wolverine right? sure! If big money not important for you and you just want to play basketball, then go back to Europe and show everybody you can play one full season.

[BallerTalk]

Dmo says, that it wasn't for medical reasons.

I fully expect this will be the central theme coming from D-Mo's camp.

[HankMoody69]

Good situation recap from clutch forum by The Cat:

(WARNING: Long post ahead.) So, to recap, here's what we know about Motiejunas' situation:

1.) He's been property of the Rockets for years. He had his back surgery on their watch. The Rockets saw every MRI, every X-ray, and were involved every step of the way, including in his rehab earlier in 2016, when he was cleared to return.

2.) He was obviously a part of the Rockets' plans as recently as 6 days ago. Their decision to want D-Mo incorporated medical knowledge from a few months ago, if not even more recent, based on the earlier point.

3.) Even if not a complete physical, Brooklyn thoroughly reviewed his relevant medical information prior to making their offer. Motiejunas has also been working out, playing basketball, and clearly isn't decrepit. He says it's not a medical issue (though obviously he'd have incentive to say that no matter what).

4.) When the Rockets matched, just 10 days ago, they didn't just match the team-friendly contract that we learned of last weekend. They matched a contract that included Motiejunas having full veto power on trades until December 2017. They matched a contract that either guaranteed D-Mo $17 million through 2018 (my view), or they were willing to spend $8.5 million just to have him through the end of February. If you believe the latter -- that Les was willing to commit $8.5 million for what amounted to a short-term experiment -- keep in mind that the revised contract would've let the Rockets off the hook after Year 1 for literally that exact same figure. Same $8.5 million, but they'd have kept him through the playoffs as well. Bottom line with the contract the Rockets matched is that Morey was either willing to make a multi-year commitment and give up July 2017 FA flexibility, or Les was willing to spend $8.5 million just for two months of regular-season DMo. Either way, it's telling. It wasn't a decision the Rockets took lightly. Someone was willing to make a bold move to keep him.

5.) Daryl isn't emotional. He's gone through plenty of negotiations, both trade and FAs, in which a player was reportedly not very keen on the idea of playing in Houston. Rarely did he walk away, if he believed the player's talent would upgrade the team. To him, chemistry stuff can almost always be patched up. Motiejunas was liked in the locker room and had tons of familiarity. I don't buy that a few days of awkwardness was enough to override what Morey thought was the right basketball decision.

6.) Similarly, a few extra days of Nene (a veteran on a 1-year contract) and Montrezl Harrell playing relatively well isn't going to override his original decision, especially since the initial match included giving up at least some July 2017 flexibility, in all likelihood. For them to match that original BKN offer tells me that Motiejunas was pretty clearly a piece they wanted.

7.) Renouncing Motiejunas altogether and making him a UFA, for no immediate gain, is as un-Morey a decision as you will ever see. There was zero downside to the team simply keeping him as a RFA and holding his rights, even if they didn't intend to match. For those who claim "distraction," I remind you that the team has won 8 straight games and is 19-7. This isn't and hasn't been bothering them. Also, given how Morey plays the RFA game, renouncing a player outright after all the stunts BJ has pulled sets a a poor precedent, if you look at it in a vacuum.

8.) I'll remind everyone again that under the latest contract, the Rockets had zero commitment beyond this year. They also could've looked to trade him for value in June or early July before simply waiving him outright, if they needed his space or decided he was too hurt to be worth the salary moving forward.


Think about all those factors, including that the Rockets have had extensive medical knowledge of Motiejunas' condition for years, the fact that Brooklyn felt comfortable enough to offer him, and that he's working out and says he's fine. I have a really hard time believing that his back issue came back so bad on the latest physical that it overrode it all, and made the same GM/owner that 10 days ago were willing to commit significant resources to him suddenly unwilling to even spend $8.5 million on a 1-year deal to see what happens. We're literally talking about, at most, a few months since the Rockets had access to his records.

There HAS to be a piece of the puzzle that we don't have. My guess is either:

A) The physical turned up something serious that was NOT the known situation
B) There was some sort of late hangup in negotiations (note that David Pick reported that the Rockets had four body scans for D-Mo as part of the bonus package) that someone wanted kept confidential, and the physical was a convenient "excuse" for everyone to move on.
C) Some sort of league office intervening issue, which I don't buy, because they leak everything. Far too many plugged in national reporters there. And if that were the case, why wouldn't the Rockets be complaining about it, since they obviously wanted him in this scenario? It's not like they were quiet when the league office became involved in the Gasol fiasco. Far from it.

Or some combination of A and B. Either way, I feel pretty confident that there's a lot more to this. Apologies for the long rant, just wanted to organize my thoughts.

Common theory in clutch forum:

The only reason that makes sense about why this went down the way it did after we matched, is that the Nets complained to the league office about us redoing the matched offer sheet contract. The way Brooklyn sees it, either DMo passes that physical and he's a Rocket, or he doesn't and he's a Net. DMo delaying, then the Rockets signing him to a new deal that's even more team-friendly, date-wise, seems quite suspicious (and for good reason, I think). The Nets complained, the league stepped in, and at that point Morey's hands were tied.

I don't understand, how you can pass physical with one team and after about a week failed it with another. If it's true, I think players association sees bad precedent here.

Smitty in another thread wrote:

Early word is that Brooklyn has asked the NBA to review the situation and see if they can get an exception to be able to sign Motiejunas. The Player's Association is also rumored to be asking for a review. Not for any sort of punishment towards Houston, but to allow Motiejunas the most possible options.

This will continue to play out for a while yet.

One thing is clear, that this story is not over.

[The_Hater]

Common theory in clutch forum:

The only reason that makes sense about why this went down the way it did after we matched, is that the Nets complained to the league office about us redoing the matched offer sheet contract. The way Brooklyn sees it, either DMo passes that physical and he's a Rocket, or he doesn't and he's a Net. DMo delaying, then the Rockets signing him to a new deal that's even more team-friendly, date-wise, seems quite suspicious (and for good reason, I think). The Nets complained, the league stepped in, and at that point Morey's hands were tied.

I don't understand, how you can pass physical with one team and after about a week failed it with another. If it's true, I think players association sees bad precedent here.

Smitty in another thread wrote:

Early word is that Brooklyn has asked the NBA to review the situation and see if they can get an exception to be able to sign Motiejunas. The Player's Association is also rumored to be asking for a review. Not for any sort of punishment towards Houston, but to allow Motiejunas the most possible options.

This will continue to play out for a while yet.

One thing is clear, that this story is not over.

Well you've got 2 different medical staffs evaluating him for starters. And with something as tricky as a back, I can definitely see differing opinions emerging.

Another way of looking at this is how did his back pass the Nets physical when it failed physicals from 2 other teams during the same calendar year? To me it seems like it's the Nets decision that was the questionable one. Or they just decided to ignore what they saw and sign him anyways.

And I doubt the league is going to reverse the decision for the Nets. DM refused to report then got his offer sheet/contract renegotiated as he wished. Armstrong and DM want to have it both ways now. I believe the league is going to look at that and say sorry about your luck.

[Sakkreth]

Makes 0 sense that he can't sign with the Nets now.

[mesomorph]

Well you've got 2 different medical staffs evaluating him for starters. And with something as tricky as a back, I can definitely see differing opinions emerging.

Another way of looking at this is how did his back pass the Nets physical when it failed physicals from 2 other teams during the same calendar year? To me it seems like it's the Nets decision that was the questionable one. Or they just decided to ignore what they saw and sign him anyways.

And I doubt the league is going to reverse the decision for the Nets. DM refused to report then got his offer sheet/contract renegotiated as he wished. Armstrong and DM want to have it both ways now. I believe the league is going to look at that and say sorry about your luck.

how do you know if he failed rockets physical? are you one of those rockets medical staff members?

[Sakkreth]

Well you've got 2 different medical staffs evaluating him for starters. And with something as tricky as a back, I can definitely see differing opinions emerging.

Another way of looking at this is how did his back pass the Nets physical when it failed physicals from 2 other teams during the same calendar year? To me it seems like it's the Nets decision that was the questionable one. Or they just decided to ignore what they saw and sign him anyways.

And I doubt the league is going to reverse the decision for the Nets. DM refused to report then got his offer sheet/contract renegotiated as he wished. Armstrong and DM want to have it both ways now. I believe the league is going to look at that and say sorry about your luck.

how do you know if he failed rockets physical? are you one of those rockets medical staff members?

Exactly, no one said he failed the physical. And DMo swears it's not medical reasons why Rockets renounced him. Seems like he would have passed it if anything.

[Winter]

Pure Guess, but Nets' contract I believe is team option from year 2 to 4, and incentive in game played. And Nets has cap space needs to consume this year anyway. So, could be his back is OK now and function, but no Dr. can sure it will hold for a longer period?

[Flash4thewin]

Bj should be fired for starters. DM can swear all he wants but reality is he has back issues, the Pistons didnt void a trade out of nothing. Odds are something came up. Again if DM swears BJ is a good agent and he swears he has no medical issues i cant help but

[red96]

Daryl Morey and Sam Hinkie do bad things for basketball - as Warren Buffett said 'Beware of geeks bearing formulas.'

BS. If DMo would've showed up for the Rockets physical, and then failed it, he'd be a Net right now, under contract making 8-9 million. He didn't because BJ told him not to, because BJ himself had DMo sign a bad contract that made him lose millions. DMo's stock is even lower now, and he has no contract, but he would've if he had just showed up. No, BJ "do bad things" for NBA players. Only the ignorant, or just plain haters wouldn't realize this. Morey actually tried to get him back to the Nets, but since DMo did a new contract with Houston(because the Nets contract sucked), the Nets can't sign him for a year. BJ placed a gun in Dmo's hand, turned it backwards, and told him to shoot.

[DoItALL9]

If no one will sign him above the minimum he should spite the league and go to GSW

Sent from my LG-H901 using RealGM mobile app

[zippy]

Raptors should offer this guy minimum, and see if he goes for it

[BallerTalk]

Another way of looking at this is how did his back pass the Nets physical when it failed physicals from 2 other teams during the same calendar year? To me it seems like it's the Nets decision that was the questionable one. Or they just decided to ignore what they saw and sign him anyways.

That's the question that stands out to me, especially when you consider the fact that not only did D-Mo fail the Pistons' physical but they paid to have independent specialists in New York check him out and he failed there too.
So if it is true that he reportedly failed in Houston that makes 3 out of 4 doctors found something they didn't like with D-Mo.

Now it is worth mentioning that the Nets had absolutely nothing to lose here. The offer sheet they signed D-Mo to was essentially a one year deal using cap space that needed to be spent anyway. With a talent deficient roster and no expectation to win very many games, taking a flyer on Motiejunas was gamble with virtually no downside for them.
So I wouldn't find it too unbelievable to think they may have been a little more willing to accept some risk other teams were not.

[yicb]

The QO that they let expire was tailor made for players in a situation like Dmo was. Healthy 7 footers makes 15+ mil a year and he would be an UFA. I dont know why Dmo felt that he needed to sign a multi-year contract right now considering he is a RFA, teams are concerned about his back problems and the fact that he played like 40 games last year and was not close to the level he was playing in 14-15. He and his agent decided to play hardball with no leverage and lost. Houston offered 2 contracts that got rejected then Dmo signed an offer sheet with the nets and Houston matched (that should be over right there and nothing was really wrong until here), but he decided not to show up for the physical until Houston matched the bonuses which they didnt need to. To not have a disgruntled player on the roster they decided to write an offer that Dmo would be more comfortable signing and I think the league and the Nets didnt like that because it would be against the spirit of CBA and blocked the new deal. So the Rockets would have two option here. 1- Hold Dmo hostage until he signs the original 31mil offer and if he doesn't, issue another qualifying offer to make him a RFA again in 2017 or 2- Renounce his rights and make him an UFA
How is Morey screwing him here? It's not his fault he cant sign with the Nets, he only matched their offer and Dmo refused to show up, he already made him an UFA but he cant change the rules to make him sign with the Nets. There are still 28 nba teams out there. People say he is a robot with no emotions but he would screw a player for revenge? Of course not, he moved on and thats it.

[Matt007b]

I like this one from Clutchfans.. from "topfive"

1. DMo signs an offer sheet from the Nets, including a base salary plus incentives.
2. Rockets match Nets' base offer, but aren't required to match incentives.
3. DMo wants the incentive money and complains to BJ, who complains to Morey.
4. (Behind the scenes) Morey tells BJ, "We'll give you the incentives if you cave on the option dates." BJ agrees, but says, "How you gonna do that?" Morey winks and replies, "Tell DMo to refuse to report for the required physical. Then the Nets' offer and our matched offer both become invalid. After that, we can do a new deal." BJ is impressed with Morey's contract wizardry, especially since dumbass BJ totally overlooked the incentives-not-needing-to-be-matched thing in the first place.
5. DMo does as told and refuses to report for the physical.
6. The Rox wait him out, then offer the newly reworked contract.
7. DMo agrees, takes the physical and passes.
8. Between the passing of the physical and DMo arriving at the Toyota Center that night, the Nets complain to the league office that some fishy **** is going down.
9. The league office says, "Not so fast, Morey!"
10. Days pass.
11. Finally the league says, "This voiding of the matched offer and signing a new contract is problematic, but we can't quite accuse you guys of manipulating the situation on purpose, so instead, you have two choices: DMo sticks with the orginal matched offer sheet with no incentives and the bad option dates, or you cut him lose and make him a RFA, which is still your right because he didn't show up for the physical required by THAT contract."
12. Morey calls Les and gives him the situation.
13. Les says, "Aw, f*ck it. I'm done."

[Cappy_Smurf]

So much stupid going on in this thread.

The Rockets lose value to the team by renouncing the rights to an asset. If they wanted to somehow screw over a player, they could do it without also screwing themselves over. You don't just give away tradable assets for nothing, just to spite someone.

Also, for any player who signs a contract they know can be matched, and then they refuse to report to the team, they have nobody to blame but themselves(or in this case, their dumbass agent) when **** doesn't work out. It's really unbelievable to do this after you've already had a trade cancelled due to a failed physical.

Makes 0 sense that he can't sign with the Nets now.

Dude signed a contract and then refused to report to the team that matched that contract. Why on God's green earth would the league now bend the rules for a player who does this? They might as well just send out a memo to all the players saying "If you don't like your deal, just don't show up until you get your way."

Not reporting was just plain dumb.

[Liqourish]

Dmo has lied about his back problems all year. Everyone who fails him on his physical is just out to get him. This guy is a headcase.