Donatas Motiejunas

‘Issues’ Remain With Donatas Motiejunas

December 12th, 2016 at 10:44am CST by Arthur Hill

DECEMBER 12, 10:44am: Although the Rockets and Motiejunas agreed to a new contract on Friday, the deal hit a snag with the forward’s physical on Saturday, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). According to Feigen, GM Daryl Morey said today that he and the Rockets are in “active discussions” with Motiejunas’ reps and the league, but it’s not clear whether or not the 26-year-old will officially join the team.

DECEMBER 10, 6:46pm: Houston’s front office wants more medical information on Motiejunas before it permits him to return to the team, Watkins tweets. Motiejunas tells ESPN that he did report to tonight’s game. “I was there,” he said. “They told me to go home.” (Twitter link).

5:58pm: The Rockets appeared to have their situation with Donatas Motiejunas resolved when they agreed to re-sign him to a four-year contact on Friday. However, the fifth-year big man wasn’t on hand for the start of tonight’s game with Dallas, and coach Mike D’Antoni said there are still “some issues” with his availability, tweets ESPN’s Calvin Watkins.

D’Antoni didn’t elaborate on what the issues involved, but added that he had expected Motiejunas to be at the game, and “he’s not.”

Motiejunas had been without a contract since becoming a restricted free agent on July 1st. He received an offer sheet from Brooklyn last week, which the Rockets matched on Monday. However, they matched just the salary part of the deal and not the incentives that the Nets included. Motiejunas’ agent, B.J. Armstrong, had a brief standoff with the team before a new deal was reached. That contract contains incentives, but pushes the team option on the final three seasons back to July 15th of each year.

Whatever issue caused Motiejunas not to be on hand for the game, D’Antoni expects to have it resolved later tonight, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.

Rockets Notes: Gordon, Beverley, Motiejunas, Morey

December 11th, 2016 at 12:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rockets guard Eric Gordon has become a candidate for the Sixth Man award since Patrick Beverley‘s return from injury, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Gordon has been on a tear from 3-point range since taking on the new role with at least four 3-pointers in seven straight games before the streak was snapped Friday. Gordon signed a four-year, $53MM deal with the Rockets this summer after spending the last three seasons in New Orleans. “I think Pat also really tries to find him,” said Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni. “He really makes a point of it. He’s good at it. I think it’s mostly Eric settling into his role.”

There’s more news out of Houston:

The Rockets are trying to remain low-key contenders as they move toward the top of the Western Conference, Feigen relays in a separate story. Boosted by the offseason additions of Gordon, Ryan Anderson and Nene, Houston is 17-7, three games out of first place in the West. “Flying under the radar, I’m really cool with that,” Beverley said. “I like it way better. We’ll just try to keep knocking them down.”
Rockets GM Daryl Morey had no comment after Saturday’s game on the status of Donatas Motiejunas, tweets Calvin Watkins of ESPN. Motiejunas, who reached a new four-year deal with the team Friday, showed up for his physical last night, but was asked to leave after it was completed.
Morey was an analytics pioneer when the Rockets hired him for their front office in 2006, writes Michael Lewis of Forbes. His mission was to use statistical analysis to replace the basketball intuition decisions the team had been relying on. “The decision making wasn’t that good,” explains owner Leslie Alexander. “It wasn’t precise. We now have all this data. And we have computers that can analyze that data. And I wanted to use that data in a progressive way. When I hired Daryl, it was because I wanted somebody that was doing more than just looking at players in the normal way.”

Donatas Motiejunas To Re-Sign With Rockets

December 9th, 2016 at 10:03am CST by Arthur Hill

10:03am: Motiejunas has agreed to a new contract with Houston, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The deal will pay him $35MM over four years (Twitter link), but bonuses could push the value to $37MM, which is identical to the Nets’ offer sheet (Twitter link). Motiejunas will make a fully guaranteed $8.3MM this season, and the Rockets will have a team option on the rest of the deal each July for the next three years (Twitter link).

Also, the trade restrictions that would have come with a matched offer sheet are gone. Motiejunas can now be traded as soon as the season ends and does not have to give his consent to any deal, tweets The Vertical’s Bobby Marks. Motiejunas still must pass a physical before returning to the team (Twitter link). He was limited to 37 games because of back problems last season, but is reportedly healthy now.

9:21am: The Rockets are working on a new contract with Donatas Motiejunas, tweets ESPN’s Marc Stein. The team has pulled an offer sheet that it matched from Brooklyn, and the parties are trying to come up with mutually acceptable terms.

Motiejunas’ status has been in limbo since become a restricted free agent July 1st. He waited through the entire offseason and the first six weeks of the regular season without receiving an offer, then agreed to a four-year, $37MM contract with the Nets last week.

The Rockets announced on Monday that they were matching the deal, but excluded $6MM in incentives that the Nets offered. Motiejunas failed to show up for a team physical in the wake of his decision, with his agent, B.J. Armstrong, saying the 26-year-old forward wouldn’t report until the dispute over incentives was resolved. The Rockets responded by declaring that they wouldn’t withdraw their first refusal exercise notice, which would have made Motiejunas a restricted free agent again.

Houston’s front office had been hoping to get the Motiejunas situation resolved before November 23rd, which was three months before the trade deadline. If the team does work out a new contract with Motiejunas, it will have to hold onto him for at least the rest of the season. After March 1st, NBA rules prohibit Motiejunas from signing with another organization through the end of the season, even if the Rockets were to allow him back on the market.

It appears from this morning’s news that both sides have decided it is in their best interest not to prolong the situation much further, and Calvin Watkins of ESPN tweets that Brooklyn’s offer sheet should help with negotiations because there are now parameters to work with.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

And-Ones: Rockets, Parsons, Sixers, Stern, Cavs

December 8th, 2016 at 8:03pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Coach Mike D’Antoni said there’s “always an open door” in regards to Donatas Motiejunas playing for the Rockets, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle passes along. “We can’t wait to have him if that works out,” D’Antoni said on Wednesday. “He will definitely be a positive. No negatives there.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Chandler Parsons, who signed a max contract with the Grizzlies over the summer, is the biggest disappointment in the league this season, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders contends. Parsons has been limited to only six games this season because of a knee injury and he’s averaging a pedestrian 7.7 point per contest.
The Sixers should deal Nerlens Noel, whom Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors profiled as a trade candidate recently, to the Bulls for Nikola Mirotic, Brigham argues in the same piece. The scribes believes Noel could anchor Chicago’s bench unit and Mirotic could turn his season around with more playing time in Philadelphia.
Former commissioner David Stern said he never canceled the proposed 2011 trade of Chris Paul from New Orleans to the Lakers because the GM at the time, Dell Demps, wasn’t authorized to make it, RealGM.com relays via Sports Business Radio. The league had assumed control of the New Orleans franchise, called the Hornets at that time and now the Pelicans, giving Stern the authority to nix it. “The GM was not authorized to make that trade,” Stern said. “And acting on behalf of owners, we decided not to make it. I was an owner rep. There was nothing to ‘void.’ It just never got made.”
John Holland, whose rights are owned by the Cavs’ D-League franchise in Canton, has returned to D-League, international journalist David Pick tweets. The 6’5” swingman was one of Cleveland’s final training camp cuts in October.

Rockets Won’t Return Motiejunas To RFA Market

December 8th, 2016 at 11:54am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets won’t withdraw their first refusal exercise notice on Donatas Motiejunas‘ offer sheet, reports Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). For now, Houston appears willing to wait out the situation in the hopes that Motiejunas eventually reports to the team and finalizes his deal.

As we noted yesterday, Motiejunas is reportedly at odds with the Rockets over a $6MM discrepancy between the offer sheet he signed with the Nets and the deal he’d have to sign with the Rockets. Motiejunas’ four-year, $37MM offer sheet from Brooklyn featured $4MM in likely incentives and $2MM in unlikely incentives. Because those bonuses weren’t included in the principal terms of the contract, the Rockets had no obligation to match them, meaning the deal is now worth $31MM.

With Motiejunas not reporting to the Rockets, the team had two options: Wait out the situation, or withdraw its refusal notice and return him to restricted free agency. In the latter scenario, Motiejunas would be unable to sign another offer sheet with the Nets, but he could sign one with any other team. When I examined the 26-year-old’s options yesterday, I pointed out that there would be little incentive for the Rockets to make Motiejunas an RFA again if they felt there was any chance a team would put a bigger offer on the table, forcing Houston to pay more to match it.

It’s possible that the two sides could work out a new arrangement that perhaps restores some of the incentives Motiejunas lost out on when the Rockets matched his offer sheet. But Houston has worked players like Sam Dekker and Montrezl Harrell into its rotation in Motiejunas’ absence, and the team doesn’t appear to be missing him too badly. If they were to renegotiate the deal, the Rockets would almost certainly want to push back the date on which Motiejunas’ 2017/18 salary becomes guaranteed — the Nets’ offer sheet calls for that to happen on March 1.

March 1 is also a date to watch because after that point Motiejunas can’t sign an offer sheet with another team during the 2016/17 league year. Beginning in March, the veteran forward can only sign with the Rockets, and if he doesn’t get something done, he’d be a restricted free agent again in 2017/18. If the two sides remain in a standoff, Motiejunas’ camp may ultimately relent in late February, since their client’s leverage would be further limited after that time. Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com made that same point today in his Insider-only look at the situation with cap expert Larry Coon.

Donatas Motiejunas, Rockets At Odds Over $6MM

December 7th, 2016 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Donatas Motiejunas‘ decision not to report to the Rockets is related to a $6MM difference between the offer sheet he signed with the Nets and the deal he’d have to sign with Houston, reports Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. As has been previously reported, the Nets’ offer had a base value of $35MM over four years and could have maxed out at $37MM, but the Rockets’ deal would only be worth $31MM.

When a team matches an offer sheet for a restricted free agent, that team is only obligated to match the “principal terms” of the offer sheet, as cap expert Larry Coon explains in his CBA FAQ. Those principal terms include bonuses that are considered “likely” for both teams, and incentives based on generally recognized league honors.

In the case of Motiejunas’ offer sheet with the Nets, the deal was reported to include $4MM in likely bonuses and $2MM in unlikely bonuses. The exact details of those incentives aren’t known, but it appears the Rockets don’t believe they’re required to match those terms, and Motiejunas’ camp either disagrees with that view or is unhappy about it. If the Rockets are correct, it raises questions about why Motiejunas’ agents would want those terms in the Nets’ offer sheet in the first place.

According to Watkins, the Rockets are open to working out a new deal with Motiejunas, and his reps are willing to discuss that possibility. Houston would want to do something in the $31MM range, and would want to push back the decision date on his 2017/18 salary, per the ESPN scribe. The Nets’ offer sheet called for that full salary to become guaranteed on March 1, 2017.

In my look earlier today at possible scenarios for Motiejunas and the Rockets, I noted that the team could withdraw its first refusal exercise notice on the Nets’ offer sheet, then negotiate a new contract with the 26-year-old. While that may be the most likely outcome at this point, agent B.J. Armstrong is also open to receiving a new offer sheet from another team, says Watkins. It’s not clear, however, if Houston would withdraw its first refusal notice unless GM Daryl Morey was confident he could get something done with Motiejunas.

What’s Next For Donatas Motiejunas?

December 7th, 2016 at 11:30am CST by Luke Adams

Donatas Motiejunas‘s free agency was already an unusual case before Tuesday, stretching out more than five months and extending well into the regular season. The saga finally appeared to be coming to an end within the last few days. Motiejunas signed a four-year offer sheet with the Nets, giving Houston 72 hours to match it, and the Rockets did just that, exercising their right of first refusal on Monday.

However, in order to finalize the new deal with the Rockets, Motiejunas had to report for a physical within the next 48 hours. That exam was scheduled for Tuesday morning, but the 26-year-old was a no-show, with his agent confirming to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle that his client wasn’t reporting to the Rockets.

“We’re not going to show up. We’ll see what happens. We’ll see what the Rockets do,” agent B.J. Armstrong told Feigen. Speaking to ESPN, Armstrong added, “We know our rights. We don’t have a problem with the Rockets at all. We understand the rules fully.”

Motiejunas’ stance is an unusual one, since the CBA’s rules regarding restricted free agents and offer sheets are clearly laid out. The Rockets are reportedly in touch with Motiejunas’ camp to discuss potential options, and the veteran power forward still has time to report to the team, but at this point it’s not clear exactly what the next step will be for either side.

With some help from CBA expert Larry Coon, here are a few ways the situation could play out:

1. Motiejunas reports to the Rockets for his physical later today.

Perhaps the Rockets and Motiejunas’ reps will be able to sort through their differences and find some common ground today, paving the way for the forward to rejoin the team. It would be an abrupt about-face for Motiejunas and his camp, but considering he doesn’t have a ton of leverage, it might be his best move.

2. Motiejunas doesn’t report, but the Rockets keep their right of first refusal notice in place.

If the standoff between the two sides continues, it won’t have a significant impact on the Rockets, who have worked players like Sam Dekker and Montrezl Harrell into their rotation in Motiejunas’ absence. The Rockets won’t have to pay Motiejunas if he doesn’t report to the team, so they may simply be satisfied to wait out the situation, leaving the contract on the table for Motiejunas to finalize whenever he’s ready.

In this scenario, D-Mo would be stuck in limbo, unable to sign a new offer sheet with another team. As Coon points out, the CBA suggests Motiejunas also wouldn’t receive credit for a year of service if he “withholds playing services called for by a Player Contract or this Agreement for more than thirty (30) days after the Season begins.” In other words, he can’t just wait out the situation in the hopes of reaching unrestricted free agency next year.

3. Motiejunas doesn’t report, the Rockets withdraw their first refusal notice, and Motiejunas signs an offer sheet with a new team.

It’s possible that this is the outcome Motiejunas and Armstrong are hoping for, but there isn’t a ton of upside here. It took the former first-round pick five months to find a suitable offer sheet, and if the Rockets decide to return him to the market as a restricted free agent, he won’t be able to ink another deal with the Nets, who would be ineligible to sign him for one year. That means he’d be in the same situation as he was before, but one prime suitor with cap room would be out of the equation.

According to Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com, multiple sources indicate there was one other team in serious talks with Motiejunas before he signed the Nets’ deal. However, Brooklyn’s offer was more attractive than the one he received from that other team, and if the Rockets were willing to match this one, it seems likely they’d be willing to match the next offer he gets. It’s also worth noting that the Rockets would have little reason to let Motiejunas return to the RFA market if they believe there’s a chance he could get a better offer than his current one, since it would put them on the hook for more money.

In this scenario, Motiejunas would have until March 1 to sign a new offer sheet. After that, he’d have to work out a deal with the Rockets or he’d be on track to return to restricted free agency in the 2017/18 league year.

4. Motiejunas doesn’t report, the Rockets withdraw their first refusal notice, and Motiejunas and the Rockets work out a new deal.

The two sides were unable to compromise on a contract for months, but perhaps now that Motiejunas’ camp knows what kind of deal Houston is willing to match, negotiations would be simpler. Still, the terms of the Nets’ offer sheet were fairly reasonable for the Rockets, and it’s unclear why the team would be motivated to work out something new unless Motiejunas’ camp provided some incentive to do so.

5. Motiejunas doesn’t report, the Rockets withdraw their first refusal notice, and Motiejunas signs with a team overseas.

The possibility of signing with team in Europe or Asia has always been on the table for Motiejunas, but again, it doesn’t offer much upside. He would likely be hard-pressed to earn the kind of money overseas that he could in the NBA, and his restricted free agent status wouldn’t go away if he spent a year or two away from the NBA — he’d still be under the Rockets’ control as an RFA if and when he wanted to return.

6. ???

It’s possible that there’s a scenario Motiejunas and Armstrong have in mind that we’ve missed, but it’s not clear what “rights” the agent has referring to, since the CBA’s language on RFAs – which was collectively bargained and agreed to by the players’ union – doesn’t leave much room for interpretation. The player’s leverage in the system is limited.

My best guess at this point is that Motiejunas is willing to wait things out. If the Rockets return him to restricted free agency, perhaps he’ll pursue an offer sheet with the mystery team that was vying with the Nets for his services. If Houston leaves its first refusal notice in place, Motiejunas could report to the team and finalize his deal later in the season.

What do you think? How will things play out for Motiejunas and the Rockets?

Donatas Motiejunas Not Reporting To Rockets

December 6th, 2016 at 12:02pm CST by Luke Adams

12:02pm: “We have our rights,” said Motiejunas’ agent B.J. Armstrong, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). “We’re not going to show up. We’ll see what happens. We’ll see what the Rockets do.”

11:47am: The Rockets essentially have two options for the Motiejunas situation, tweets Wojnarowski: Leave his deal on their books and hope he reports and signs it, or return him to restricted free agency. If Motiejunas hits the market again, he wouldn’t be eligible to sign with the Nets for a year, says Wojnarowski.

11:44am: A day after the Rockets matched his four-year offer sheet to retain him, Donatas Motiejunas did not show up for his scheduled physical exam with the team this morning, reports Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). According to Feigen, the Rockets are weighing their options as they consider how to move forward.

Motiejunas, 26, remained on the free agent market for more than five months before finally signing an offer sheet with the Nets on Friday. On Monday, the Rockets exercised their right of first refusal on that deal, which has a base value of $35MM over four years, waiving Bobby Brown to clear room on their roster for the RFA forward. However, Motiejunas has yet to report to the team.

The Rockets reached an agreement to trade Motiejunas to the Pistons at last year’s deadline, but that deal ultimately fell through because of health concerns related to the big man’s back. Houston had also hoped to re-sign Motiejunas before November 23 so that he’d still be trade-eligible this season, another sign that he is perhaps not in the club’s long-term plans. Those factors, combined with the fact that the Rockets never made a contract offer Motiejunas’ camp viewed as acceptable, likely created friction between the player and team, though it’s not clear if that’s what motivated his no-show today.

It’s also not entirely clear what options the Rockets have at their disposal if Motiejunas doesn’t report to the team. According to Feigen (via Twitter), Houston “could return Motiejunas to restricted free agent status,” though the team has yet to make any decisions. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical confirms (via Twitter) that the Rockets and Motiejunas’ reps are discussing the situation.

We’ll provide updates on the situation as they’re available.

Rockets Notes: Motiejunas, D’Antoni, Brown

December 5th, 2016 at 8:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

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).

Rockets Match Donatas Motiejunas’ Offer Sheet

December 5th, 2016 at 4:18pm CST by Luke Adams

4:18pm: The Rockets will create an opening on their 15-man roster for Motiejunas by waiving Bobby Brown, per Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. The move doesn’t come as a surprise, since Brown’s contract was the only fully non-guaranteed deal on Houston’s books.

Watkins adds that Motiejunas will have to pass a physical before he officially rejoins the Rockets. The veteran forward underwent a medical examination with the Nets when he visited the team last week, so the physical isn’t expected to be an issue, despite concerns about his back.

Meanwhile, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link), now that Houston has matched, Motiejunas’ deal is believed to be worth $31MM over four years. An earlier report suggested that the Nets’ offer featured $1MM annually in likely incentives, so perhaps those incentives are considered unlikely for the Rockets, in which case they won’t initially count against the cap.

3:58pm: The Rockets have matched the four-year, $35MM+ offer sheet Donatas Motiejunas signed with the Nets on Friday, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). Houston will have to clear a spot on its 15-man roster to make the move official and formally bring Motiejunas back into the fold.

For Brooklyn, the offer sheet for Motiejunas represented the third time this year that the team had made an effort to land a restricted free agent from another club. However, as with the case when they inked Allen Crabbe (Trail Blazers) and Tyler Johnson (Heat) to lucrative four-year offer sheets, the Nets were stymied in their attempt to add young talent when the player’s original team matched the offer.

Motiejunas, the NBA’s last unsigned RFA of 2016, received a qualifying offer worth about $4.4MM from the Rockets back in June. However, the 26-year-old didn’t reach an agreement with Houston or sign an offer sheet with a rival suitor during the offseason, and that qualifying offer expired in October. Still, the Rockets maintained the right of first refusal on the big man, giving GM Daryl Morey the opportunity to match Brooklyn’s offer.

The four-year deal Motiejunas signed on Friday with the Nets has a reported base value of about $35MM, and features $500K annually in unlikely incentives, for a full value of $37MM. The contract only includes $5MM in guaranteed money for now, but Motiejunas will reportedly have the rest of his $8.5MM first-year salary guaranteed in January, and his $9MM salary for 2017/18 will become guaranteed if he remains under contract through March 1. In other words, he’ll receive at least $17.5MM or so in guarantees unless he’s waived within the next three months.

The Rockets’ last offer to Motiejunas in November was said to be a two-year proposal worth about $7MM guaranteed in year one. The second-year salary on that offer was non-guaranteed. Houston will now have Motiejunas under contract for four years rather than two, at a slightly higher rate, though the final two years of the new deal will remain non-guaranteed until July 2018 and July 2019, respectively.

While the Nets used their cap room to make Motiejunas an offer, the Rockets will retain him using their Bird Rights. Houston entered the day just slightly over the $94MM salary cap, so the deal figures to increase 2016/17 team salary to over $100MM. The club will still be comfortably below the tax line, which is in the $113MM range.

Although Motiejunas struggled to stay healthy last season and his production took a significant hit, he looked like a player on the rise in 2014/15, when he averaged 12.0 PPG and 5.9 RPG to go along with a .504 FG% and a .368 3PT%. He has been plagued by back troubles in recent years, creating some long-term uncertainty about his health and limiting his market. The Rockets were said to have concerns about how his back will hold up in the long term.

For now though, Motiejunas looks like a good fit for Mike D’Antoni‘s system, and once he gets up to speed, he’ll likely assume a role as the club’s backup power forward behind Ryan Anderson. The former 20th overall pick may also see some time at center in smaller lineups, and his return could have an impact on Sam Dekker‘s and Montrezl Harrell‘s minutes.

Assuming the Rockets don’t make a surprise cut between now and March, Motiejunas will remain with the team throughout the 2016/17 season, since he’s not eligible to be traded. Free agents can’t be dealt for three months after signing contracts, which means Motiejunas won’t be trade-eligible until March 5 — that date falls after this season’s February 23 trade deadline.

The Rockets previously agreed to trade Motiejunas to the Pistons at the 2015/16 trade deadline, but that deal fell through due to concerns about the seven-footer’s back.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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