Donatas Motiejunas denies suing Rockets

Donatas Motiejunas had a rough free agency – a matched offer sheet, skipped physical and failed physical turning what was presented as a four-year, $37 million deal with the Nets into a prorated minimum salary from the Pelicans.

What’s next for the former Rockets restricted free agent?

Sean Deveney of Sporting News:

Now he is seeking legal restitution, sources told Sporting News. Motiejunas is in the midst of an arbitration action against the Rockets and the NBA that is close to wrapping up.

The conclusion of Motiejunas’ ordeal is nearing an end, expected to be a settlement, a source said, possibly coming next week.

Motiejunas:

A month ago we with the NBA Players Association and the Houston Rockets found an agreement and solved everything. There are no court proceedings between us. The information which was published on media is false.

The issue seems to be the headline of Deveney’s article: “Pelicans’ Donatas Motiejunas suing Rockets, NBA over contract saga, SN sources say.” Nothing within the article refers to a lawsuit. This appears to be a case of an editor mis-headlining an article.

I’d also guess there was an agreement between Motiejunas and the Rockets about a month ago, but that agreement hadn’t been finalized. Hence, Motiejunas was done a month ago and definitely not filing a lawsuit while Deveney still reports the arbitration will wrap up soon.