All in all, this DMo thing has been by far the strangest free-agent negotiation process I've seen since I started watching NBA basketball when the Rockets first moved from San Diego.
So, what's the point of RFA if a player can just go to the league office and force his way out? Smoke on, Dmo.
I still want to know if a UFA can sign with the team that just released him. Wouldn't that piss off Adam Silver, if DMo turned around and signed with us now. David Stern would be calling him, saying, "You gonna let them get away with this?!?"
(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.
I dont understand why Dmo couldn't go direct to the Nets. or at least sign again. They didnt do anything wrong It was our fault. I hope there is a negotiation under the table "I got back and make Dmo UFA, and you give me something in return"
I keep telling y'all that Brewer has the dirt on everyone, and forced both Morey and DMo to walk away from the contract, so he keeps playing. Spoiler: more serious reply Sure you can test him out on the court just to make sure, but that look costs Les $8.3m, summer cap implications or not. If he failed the physical (which I doubt), it can simply come down to dollars and sense (pun intended)....this isn't fantasy league where you play with monopoly money and as long as there are no cap implications and you can waive, you can say why not. [Edit] just saw @dobro1229 said same thing. Yeah, I agree.
Good post, Cat. I agree with all of your 8 points. 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.
Just my belief: I think the Rockets were exploring trade options. NBA probably have rules against keeping a guy on ice for x amount of days. This is why the Rockets never said D-Mo failed the most recent physical. Rockets had a choice 1) continue with $31 mil contract or 2) release him as a free agent. This makes me believe Morey has a trade target or two that may take place. A bird (D-Mo) in the hand is worth 2 in the bush.
The League still gave Rockets rights to retain RFA status. They chose to renounce him entirely to UFA. I assume as a good will gesture for time served as a Rockets. If it doesn't work, just let him move on. And by going through all this League stuff, it doesn't set a precedent that other RFAs can do it again to Rockets.
Spoiler Daryl is dirty for trading D-Mo Daryl is dirty because Detroit failed him Daryl is dirty because from July 1st to December 1st, despite "insider reports" that D-Mo already had his money, received no offers. Daryl is dirty for taking all 3 days to match. Daryl is dirty for matching the Nets offer sheet. Daryl is dirty because BJ doesn't know the rules Daryl is dirty for re-negotiating a deal that both parties wanted. (You move back the March 1? deadline to July; we'll include the bonuses/incentives for $35M) Daryl is dirty for releasing D-Mo into free agency, no longer bound by restrictions - can sign a large, guaranteed deal since Daryl & Les are "cheap" and just see him & wanted him as a [trade] "asset" anyways. That damn Dirty Daryl!
It's possible in theory, but I have a hard time seeing it not leak from Brooklyn or the league office's side, if that were the case. I also don't know why the Rockets would just go quietly into the night, if they were losing a player they wanted on a dream contract. And what little we've heard from D-Mo's side -- the information he's liked from Joel Blank, the RT, removing the Rockets from his Twitter -- sure makes it seem like he's upset with the Rockets. To me, the vibe from D-Mo since Saturday has pretty clearly been one of frustration toward Houston. If it had to do with some sort of Brooklyn/NBA intervention, which would be almost unprecedented, my guess is that his frustration would be directed elsewhere. Again, not impossible. I just find it unlikely.
