Yi Jianlian get a second chance to prove himself following his one-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. (Photo : Getty Images/Lintao Zhang)
The Los Angeles Lakers could emerge as one of a handful of teams pursuing Lithuanian big man Donatas Motiejunas, who is currently in a middle of contract dispute with the Houston Rockets.
Motiejunas, 20th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, rejected a qualifying offer from the Rockets worth $4.4 million.
No deal was reached before the deadline to sign players eligible for qualifying contract expired earlier this month, allowing Motiejunas to entertain offers from three teams with enough cap room to sign him: Denver Nuggets, Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Lakers are just under the cap at $94 million, but they can create a cap room up to $12.1 million in cap space, if Yi Jianlian does not play in 20 games and traded on December. 15.
Although many NBA insiders believe Motiejunas will eventually sign a one-year deal with the Rockets in order for him to become unrestricted free-agent next summer, the possibility of him traded remains high.
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-Motiejunas has interest playing for the Lakers. In an interview with Talkbasket.net back in 2014, the Lithuanian big actually admitted that he likes to play with the purple-and-gold franchise once his contract with the Rockets is up.
"Most likely in Los Angeles because there are no serious bigs and I would likely get chances to play. I mean the Lakers, not the Clippers," said Motiejunas, who has career averages of 7.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
-The Lakers will attempt to trade Yi and his enticing partially-guaranteed contract once trade window for newly-signed players opens on Dec. 15. The Chinese big signed a one-year, $8M deal with the Lakers this summer after several seasons in the Chinese Basketball League.
Basketball Insiders writer Eric Pincus explains why Yi's contract is arguably the most enticing deal on the roster right now.
"If Yi does not play in 20 games and is traded on Dec. 15, the Lakers would be able to bring back up to $12.1 million in salary. The incoming team could then waive Yi immediately at $341,737, shaving off $11.8 million off their cap.
If, for example, the Sacramento Kings decided to part ways with DeMarcus Cousins - something they are not currently considering - the Lakers would be required to send out $11,957,900 in salary.
Theoretically, the Lakers would be able to reach that number by sending out Julius Randle, Anthony Brown and Yi ($12,141,756 combined). Sacramento would need two open roster spots to make such a deal legal in-season."
The Lakers have been trying to salvage an established player to pair up with budding playmaker D'Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram. Yi's contract could play a big role in hammering a huge deal this season.
