Motiejunas Looking at Rockets and Beyond

The Houston Rockets shouldn't be 100% confident that Donuts will be on the plate for the 2016-2017 season. Donatas Motiejunas is interested in staying with the Houston Rockets but has made it clear that he is listening to other offers, according to a recent interview with Fox 26 News in Houston.

When asked if he could wind up on another team, Motiejunas said, "Yeah, of course. There are a couple of teams that still have a lot of interest in me."

Donuts, a restricted free agent, has become a fan favorite in his time in Houston and looks to be a significant part of the forward rotation if he returns to the third coast. But it's clear that he recognizes that is no guarantee.

"I'm not necessarily back," said Motiejunas. "There are teams that have a chance to offer a contract. You never know what's going to happen, but if it ends up I'm coming back, I'm happy."

At this point, the Rockets are in the best position to sign Donuts. So many teams have broken the bank already in this free agency period and the market seems to be pretty low for a player who only notched 37 games under his belt in the 2015-2016 season. One option that could work in his favor is to sign a qualifying offer, play at a high level with minimal injuries, and then reap the benefits as an unrestricted free agent in 2017.  As Joshua Reese previously stated, the best option may be for Motiejunas to bet on himself.

At this point, both sides are playing the waiting game and that works in the favor of Houston. No pun intended, but at this moment they're the only team we know of that truly has Motiejunas' back.