Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni plans to give Donatas Motiejunas minutes at both center and power forward now that the team has matched his offer sheet, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “It’s great,” D’Antoni said. “Looking forward to having him in here and getting him going. He’ll be a nice addition, a nice boost.” Owner Leslie Alexander also complimented Motiejunas, relays Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston, saying, “There aren’t many seven-foot players who have the skills that D-Mo possesses. He sees the court very well. He’s a terrific passer and works hard to improve his game.” (Twitter link)
There’s more tonight out of Houston:
- The official release time for Bobby Brown, who was waived to open a roster spot for Motiejunas, will determine how much he collects in salary, posts Calvin Watkins on ESPN Now. If Brown was let go before 5 p.m. Eastern, he will receive $253,759 and will clear waivers Wednesday. If it was any later, Brown will get $259,536 and will clear waivers Thursday.
- The 32-year-old Brown handled the news of his release like a seasoned professional, Berman tweets. Brown, who earned a roster spot in Houston after being out of the league since the 2009/10 season, appeared in six games with the Rockets and scored two points. “They explained the whole situation as far as D-Mo,” Brown said. “It’s not difficult at all. I’ve been through it before. I’m older. I understand the business side now on how things go.”
- Adding Motiejunas brings the Rockets’ team salary to the $103MM mark, Watkins tweets. Houston has moved up to 10th in the league in payroll, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical (Twitter link).