It took the entire offseason, training camp, preseason and the first month of the season, but Donatas Motiejunas finally has a new contract with the Houston Rockets.
According to the Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski and the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen, the Rockets have matched the Brookyln Nets' offer sheet for Motiejunas. The Rockets big man's new deal with Houston is for four-years, $37 million and includes bonuses and various guarantees.
It is not too surprising that the Rockets decided to match Brooklyn's offer sheet. With such a manageable contract, the Rockets can likely trade Montiejunas if they are looking to upgrade their roster at some point in the future. Also since the Rockets were concerned with Montiejunas history of back issues, the way his contract is structured, Houston can get out of it and cut bait without having to pay an exorbitant amount of money.
From a basketball standpoint, Montiejunas, if healthy, can help the Rockets. He should be a nice fit for Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni's free-flowing offense, giving Houston a nice option in the post and creating an inside-out game. Montiejunas is also a fine defender and should help give Houston more of an inside presence. Houston has been dynamite on offense this season but have the 27th ranked defense in the league, giving up 107.2 points per 100 possessions.
Montiejunas likely won't make a huge impact in Houston. But he is a solid player and if he is a 100 percent healthy, makes the Rockets an even stronger team as they fight for playoff positioning in the West.
