Houston Rockets center Donatas Motiejunas (L) posts up against Denver Nuggets' Kenneth Faried. (Photo : Getty Images)
Houston Rockets center Donatas Motiejunas was forced to pass up the opportunity to join his Lithuania national basketball squad in the coming Rio Olympics as his current free-agency remains unresolved at the moment.
The 25-year-old Kaunas, Lithuania native had just finished his four-year, $6.5 million deal with the Rockets, which made him a restricted free agent this summer.
So far, Houston, who also owns Motiejunas' Bird rights, has extended a $4.4 million qualifying offer for the young big man to decide to accept while there are still no offers from other NBA clubs that the Rockets could potentially match, according to Fansided.
For the meantime, it is a waiting game for Motiejunas, one that is not favorable for the 20th overall pick of the 2011 draft as it has even cost him a chance to represent his country in this year's Summer Olympics.
The report noted that the reluctance of other teams to send him an offer may be traced to the Rockets' botched trade with the Pistons last February when Motiejunas should have been dealt to Detroit but Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy canceled the deal because of concerns over the big man's back problems.
Motiejunas and his representatives almost sued Van Gundy and the Pistons for doing that because they claimed that it has affected the player's value in free-agency, which is being proven right now.
FOX 26 Sports reported Motiejunas as saying that there are "a couple of teams that still have a lot of interest in me" and that his agent is talking with them at this time.
However, the absence of a contract or any resolution where he will wind up next season would be too much of a gamble for a professional like Motiejunas to risk being injured in the Olympics.
The young center admitted that he was disappointed, though, that he could not participate in the world's biggest sporting event.
"I couldn't go because the team just left today to Spain to play some friendly games," said Motiejunas. "The Federation asked me to tell them if I'm in or not, and I told them without a contract I cannot really go because of insurance problems. I didn't want to risk (injury) in that situation."
He then made an assurance that his back is already 100 percent and that he is ready to start the new season.
"It's all good," he said. "I'm working out. I have no problems. I'm just sitting and waiting at this point."
