“I invest so much into my craft and have worked extremely hard to stay healthy and prove myself on the basketball court, which was evident last season,” Motiejunas said. “I look forward to immediately contributing to a new team and ultimately winning championships.

“I want to thank the great fans in Houston for all of their support. I really enjoyed my time in the community. The city and people will always hold a special place in my heart as the place where my NBA career began.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

• After veteran NBA guard Gary Neal signed a D-League contract earlier this week, he landed with New York’s affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, as Chris Reichert of The Step Back tweets.
• Former Arizona big man and 2013 second-round pick Grant Jerrett has signed with the Beijing Ducks, Stephon Marbury’s team in China, according to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link).
• Keith P. Smith of RealGM.com identifies 11 players on track for 2017 free agency who may be flying under the radar a little, including JaMychal Green (Grizzlies), Patty Mills (Spurs), and Bojan Bogdanovic (Nets).
• Jason Concepcion of The Ringer examines some of the players who are off to underwhelming starts this season after signing lucrative new contracts over the summer, with Hornets forward Marvin Williams leading the way.

Jerrett last appeared in an NBA regular season contest during the 2014/15 campaign, when he played in a combined eight games for the Jazz and the Thunder. The power forward averaged 2.0 points and 1.1 rebounds in 6.4 minutes while shooting .269/.067/1.000.

Stiemsma, 31, has four years of NBA experience under his belt, having appeared in regular-season games for the Celtics, Timberwolves, Pelicans, and Raptors from 2011 to 2015. In 203 total games, the former Wisconsin big man has averaged 3.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 1.1 BPG in a part-time role, shooting 50.9% from the field.

• Grant Jerrett‘s training camp deal with the Trail Blazers is a one-year, non-guaranteed pact worth $980,431, Pincus tweets. If the forward makes Portland’s regular season roster, his deal won’t be guaranteed until the January 10th, 2017, which is the leaguewide date for contracts this season. The Blazers currently have $112,354,979 in guaranteed salary on the books for 2016/17.
• The summer contracts the Raptors inked Drew Crawford and Yanick Moreira to are both non-guaranteed deals worth $543,471 apiece, per Pincus (Twitter link). Each deal would become fully guaranteed on December 15th, 2016, provided they made the regular season roster. Toronto currently has $106,077,999 in guaranteed salary already on the books for this campaign.
• In keeping with the non-guaranteed summer contract trend we have going here, the Pelicans agreements with Robert Sacre and Chris Copeland will count as $980,431 against the cap each, with both players actual salaries set at $1,050,961, Pincus relays (on Twitter). Shawn Dawson‘s non-guaranteed deal will pay him $543,471, should he make the team, the scribe adds. All three deals would become fully guaranteed if they remain on the roster past January 10th, 2017. The Pelicans’ fully guaranteed commitments currently stand at $97,799,631 for the coming season.
• Domantas Sabonis‘ rookie-scale deal with the Thunder will pay him $2,440,200 this season, $2,550,000 in 2017/18, $2,659,800 in 2018/19 and $3,529,555 the final season, Pincus tweets. Ronnie Price‘s two-year pact, which is fully guaranteed, will see him earn $2,557,545 this year and $2,442,445 in 2017/18, Pincus adds. OKC’s guaranteed commitments currently total up to $91,860,496 for 2016/17.

AUGUST 16th: The Trail Blazers have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent Grant Jerrett, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). The scribe classifies it as a training camp pact, so it’s almost assuredly for the league minimum and likely includes little or no guaranteed salary.

Portland currently has 16 players on its roster, including 14 with fully guaranteed deals. So, unless Jerrett truly impresses the coaching staff during the preseason, he’s likely ticketed for the D-League to begin the year.

Jerrett last appeared in an NBA regular season contest during the 2014/15 campaign, when he played in a combined eight games for the Jazz and the Thunder. The power forward averaged 2.0 points and 1.1 rebounds in 6.4 minutes while shooting .269/.067/1.000.

The power forward’s contract, which he signed in the summer of 2014, is for the minimum salary but it covers four seasons, so a team would have to have cap space or an exception other than the minimum salary exception to snag him off waivers, limiting the chances a team claims him. This season is the last guaranteed year.

It’s no surprise to see the Jazz make this move, despite the salary implications, since Jerrett is still recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered in the first game of summer league, notes Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). He only appeared in three games for Utah last season after he was part of the three-team Enes Kanter/Reggie Jackson trade at the deadline, and he’d only made his way into five games for the Thunder prior to the swap. That’s in spite of his pedigree as the 40th overall pick from the 2013 draft.

The move further opens the competition in Jazz camp. Jeff Withey has a team-high $200K partial guarantee and Treveon Graham is assured of at least $75K, while Bryce Cotton, Chris Johnson and Elijah Millsap have no guaranteed money. Utah can keep no more than three of them without waiving another fully guaranteed deal, which seems unlikely.

Do you think Jerrett would prove worthy of an NBA roster spot if given playing time? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

• Rookie Erick Green hasn’t seen much playing time for the Nuggets this season, and he realizes he has to seize the opportunity when he does, as he tells Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The former second-round pick saw a career high of just 25 minutes Saturday, and his minimum salary for next season is non-guaranteed.
• That’s in stark contrast to Lakers rookie Jordan Clarkson, a fellow former second-rounder who’ll remain with the Lakers for next season, as coach Scott said directly on Saturday, tweets Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. Clarkson, who’s excelled as he’s made 33 starts, also has a non-guaranteed minimum salary for 2015/16.
• The Jazz have recalled Grant Jerrett from the D-League, the team announced. The power forward hasn’t put up impressive numbers while on assignment, averaging 13.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 28.4 minutes per game across 19 appearances for both the Thunder and Jazz affiliates this season. He’s knocked down 41.2% of his three-pointers on his frequent D-League trips this year, but he’s only managed to make it into six NBA games.

Here are the latest D-League moves:

• The Raptors have recalled center Lucas Nogueira from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team announced on Twitter. This concludes Nogueira’s second trip of the season to the D-League, where in four contests he averaged 8.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 20.0 minutes per night.
• Kyle Anderson has been assigned by the Spurs to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Anderson’s fifth jaunt to the D-League this season.
• The Mavericks have recalled Dwight Powell from the Texas Legends, their D-League affiliate, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com reports (Twitter link). Powell has made a dozen trips to the D-League this season.
• Grant Jerrett has been assigned by the Jazz to the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be the forward’s tenth sojourn of the season to the D-League.
• The Pistons have recalled Quincy Miller from the Grand Rapids Drive, their D-League affiliate, Keith Langlois of NBA.com reports (Twitter link).

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

• Kevin Durant had a setback at practice today and isn’t playing in Friday’s game against the Hawks, according to Royce Young of the TrueHoop Network.  “Just he experienced some soreness,” coach Scott Brooks said. “I think when you go through rehab, we all know through the rehab process you’re going to have some peaks and valleys, and you just have to adjust accordingly. That’s why he was off today, and he’s definitely not playing tomorrow. That’s all part of the process with his rehab.” Durant has missed 17 of the last 23 games, including 13 straight,  because of a foot injury.
• The Jazz have one of the youngest rosters in the league and Ben Detrick of Grantland.com chronicles how the franchise turned itself into a team with one of the brightest futures in the Western Conference. Detrick points out that Utah’s success lately is partially a result of trading away Enes Kanter. The move cleared up a jumbled frontcourt situation and gave Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors ample playing time. Of the power forwards in the league, only Blake Griffin and Anthony Davis have a higher PER than Favors’ 22.4 rating this season.
• The Jazz have recalled Grant Jerrett from their D-League affiliate, the Idaho Stampede, according to the team’s website. The Arizona product appeared in four games for the Stampede, averaging 12.8 points and 1.5 blocks per game.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

• The Jazz have excelled defensively and in the standings since trading Enes Kanter at the deadline, having found an identity, as Jody Genessy of the Deseret News examines.
• Though the decision to sign Brown was Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak‘s, Scott is glad to have an extra player on the team’s bench, Medina adds. “I’m all for it if that’s what Mitch wants to do,” Scott said. “We talked about Jabari a few days ago and wanted to bring him. We needed a body or two anyway. But it gives us a chance to see if we’d like to have the guy on our summer league team as well.”
• The Jazz have assigned Grant Jerrett to the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. Jerrett has only appeared in one game for Utah since being acquired from the Thunder on February 19th.  He previously appeared in five games for Oklahoma City, averaging 1.4 points in 5.0 minutes per contest.

6:34pm: The Jazz have formally announced that the deal is official. The Pistons and Thunder have also confirmed the trade in press releases. Utah has acquired Jerrett, the rights to Pleiss, Perkins, and a future first-round pick from Oklahoma City, as well as a 2017 second-round pick from the Pistons. The Thunder will receive Kanter and Novak from Utah, and Augustin and Singler from the Pistons, while Detroit garners Jackson.

4:06pm: The Jazz are getting Jerrett, a protected first-round pick from the Thunder and a second-rounder from the Pistons in addition to Kanter and the rights to Pleiss, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

3:49pm: Several picks are changing hands in the deal as well, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, suggesting that a significant chunk of the draft considerations are heading Utah’s way (Twitter link).

3:33pm: The Thunder dealt for Kanter with the intention of re-signing him this summer, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

3:25pm: Grant Jerrett is headed out in the deal, too, according to Mayberry, though he doesn’t specify which team he’s going to (Twitter link). The Thunder are expected to waive Ish Smith to accommodate all the moves, Mayberry adds.

2:49pm: The Thunder will send the draft rights to center Tibor Pleiss to the Jazz, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman (on Twitter).

2:44pm: Guard D.J. Augustin is headed from the Pistons to OKC in the deal, according to Wojnarowski (on Twitter). The former No. 9 overall pick averaged 10.6 PPG and 4.98 APG in 23.8 minutes per game for the Pistons this season.

2:15pm: Steve Novak is heading from the Jazz to the Thunder in the deal, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter).  Jody Genessy of The Deseret News (on Twitter) first reported that Novak would be included in the three-way swap.

1:56pm: It’s now a three-way deal, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter links).  The Jazz will send Enes Kanter to OKC, the Thunder will ship Kendrick Perkins to Utah, and Detroit will send Kyle Singler to OKC.

Talks with the Jazz about Kanter picked up today as OKC weighed the pros and cons of the Nets’ Brook Lopez/Jackson proposal.  For his part, Kanter made it clear last week that he’s frustrated with his role and wants a trade.  In 49 games this season, Kanter has averaged 13.8 PPG and 7.8 RPG – both career-highs, in 27.1 minutes per contest.  For his career, the former No. 3 overall pick has put up 9.3 PPG and 5.9 RPG across four seasons in Utah.

Perkins, 30, is now slated to join the third franchise in his NBA career.  The big man has been playing mostly in a reserve role this season, averaging 4.0 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 19.2 minutes per contest.  In total, Perkins has put up 5.6 PPG and 6.0 RPG over the course of 12 seasons with the Celtics and Thunder.

1:50pm: The Thunder have traded Jackson to the Pistons, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).

1:34pm: The Pistons are making a strong run at Reggie Jackson, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).  Jackson appeared to be Brooklyn-bound earlier today, but it’s not clear if that deal will be consummated.

The Thunder and the Nets were discussing the framework of a deal that would involve Brook Lopez going to OKC and Jackson going to Brooklyn.  However, the Thunder pumped the breaks a bit on the talks when they started looking at a deal with another team.  Given that Detroit is enthusiastic about landing Jackson, the PIstons might be the party putting a spoke in that wheel.

Jackson’s agent, Aaron Mintz, recently requested that the Thunder trade his client, who’s due for restricted free agency this summer. The Kings, Bucks, Heat, Pacers, Rockets and Nuggets also registered their interest in Jackson, while there are conflicting reports about whether the Celtics are pursuing him.

The 24-year-old turned down an extension offer in the neighborhood of four years and $48MM this past fall, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (Twitter link). That was around the time teams around the league thought he’d end up commanding $13-14MM a year this summer, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported at the time.

Here’s some more news from the D-League:

• The Thunder have recalled Grant Jerrett from their D-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, according to the team’s website. The Thunder will be without the services of Kevin Durant against the Wolves tonight, which could lead to some unexpected minutes for the inexperienced power forward.
• The Rockets have recalled Isaiah Canaan from their D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, according to the team’s twitter feed. Canaan averaged 21 points and 8.5 assist while on his D-League assignment.
• The Grizzlies have recalled Jordan Adams from the Iowa Energy, their D-League affiliate, according to the team’s website. Adams averaged 23 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.0 steals in three games during his latest stint.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

• The Thunder have re-assigned Grant Jerrett to the Oklahoma City Blue, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced (Twitter link). This will be Jerrett’s eighth sojourn to the D-League this season. The 21-year-old has only made four NBA appearances thus far this season, and has averaged 1.8 points in 6.0 minutes per contest for the Thunder.
• Blazers GM Neil Olshey insisted that he won’t rush to make up for the absence of LaMarcus Aldridge, and that any deals the team makes at the trade deadline will be with the playoffs and not the regular season in mind, Grantland’s Zach Lowe notes.
• Grizzlies rookie Jarnell Stokes is still trying to adjust to not seeing regular minutes after having been the star on every team that he played for prior to arriving in Memphis, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. “It was hard for me at first,” Stokes said of not playing. “The first couple games, even just in the preseason, I was like, ‘Man, I’m going to have to do this all year?’ It was tough. I was coming home just mad and I had to learn that this is the way it’s going to be and that I can learn from this and that God has me in this position for a reason. I’ll have my opportunity [eventually] and I feel like there are some things I can work on now, so I can get better. I’m just working on those things so I’m ready the next time my name is called.” Stokes spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors last August.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

1:07pm: The Nets still want to move Lopez soon, and the Heat remain part of the talks surrounding the center, as Wojnarowski reveals in a full story.

12:51pm: Brooklyn isn’t prepared to simply dump salary, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (on Twitter). The two-team proposal involving the Thunder would have been essentially a salary dump, as Broussard wrote earlier (below).

12:34pm: The Nets are “standing pat” on Lopez discussions for now, a Nets source tells Wojnarowski, saying that there’s nothing on the market that they find appealing (Twitter links).

12:26pm: The Rockets are also looking into Lopez, Wojnarowski tweets.

10:36am: The Thunder and the Nets are making progress on their two-team talks, Wojnarowski reports (on Twitter). Lamb would go along with Perkins to Brooklyn for Lopez, Wojnarowski says, though Oklahoma City would need to add yet more salary to make it work, since the Thunder are above the tax line and can’t take in more than 125% plus $100K of the salary they give up.

9:49am: It was unwillingness on the part of the Nets to take on Stephenson that has Brooklyn considering a two-way deal with the Thunder instead of the three-teamer with the Hornets and Thunder, Wojnarowski tweets.

9:32am: The Nets continue to talk to the Thunder about a swap involving Lopez and Perkins in what would be a virtual “salary dump” for Brooklyn, according to Broussard (Twitter links).

9:05am: It was indeed the Nets who pulled away from the talks with Charlotte and Oklahoma City, but it’s still likely Brooklyn will trade Lopez, Bonnell writes in a full story.

8:44am: The potential deal between the Thunder, Hornets and Nets is “dead” for the time being, a source tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter). Reed Wallach of NetsDaily hears there are a lot of deals in play for the Nets (Twitter link).

FRIDAY, 8:00am: The Nets are trying to change some of the players involved in talks with the Thunder and Hornets as Brooklyn continues to resist closing on a deal, Broussard tweets. The rumors have upset Lopez, as a friend of Lopez tells Robert Windrem of Nets Daily (Twitter link). The NetsDaily scribe writes in a full story that league sources say Stephenson’s absence from the Hornets’ lineup has been because of a poor relationship with coach Steve Clifford, and not a groin injury as the team claims.

THURSDAY, 11:57pm: It’d be a surprise if the Nets, Thunder and Hornets don’t come to a deal that sends Brook Lopez to Oklahoma City, numerous league sources tell Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link), who hears from one source who says such a trade is likely to happen, as Bonnell writes in a full story. The Thunder and Hornets have reportedly agreed to a framework of a trade that would involve Lopez going to the Thunder, Lance Stephenson and Kendrick Perkins going to the Nets, and Jarrett Jack and Jeremy Lamb going to the Hornets. Charlotte would also receive Grant Jerrett in that arrangement, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, though the Nets appear to be holding out as other teams pursue Lopez.

The Nuggets have spoken about a package involving JaVale McGee, but the Nets aren’t high on Denver’s injury-prone big man, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Heat came forward with a proposal involving Chris Andersen, Norris Cole and Josh McRoberts, sources tell Wojnarowski. The Hornets would like to acquire Lopez for themselves, but Brooklyn prefers to send him to the Western Conference, Wojnarowski also hears. The Lakers are also reportedly interested in Lopez.

The Nets were reluctant to take on Stephenson last month, and while the front office remains cautious about him, as other teams around the league believe, Brooklyn’s ownership supports the idea of trading for him, as Wojnarowski details. Brooklyn’s talks involving Deron Williams haven’t found much footing, according to Wojnarowski. The team would like to rid itself of two of Lopez, Williams and Joe Johnson by the trade deadline, and the Nets have indicated to other teams that they want to make a Lopez deal by the weekend.

The Hornets have been “desperate” to trade Stephenson, according to Wojnarowski, though a month ago it appeared Charlotte had put an end to talks, at least temporarily. Still, there’s a strong belief that the shooting guard, a Brooklyn native, will end up back in his hometown, a move he’s hoped to make at some point, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.

Here are the latest D-League moves:

• The Warriors have recalled Ognjen Kuzmic from the Santa Cruz Warriors, their D-League affiliate, the team announced in a press release. This completes Kuzmic’s fourth stint of the season with Santa Cruz.
• Russ Smith was recalled from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League, the Grizzlies announced in a press release. Smith was in the midst his third D-League assignment of the season for the Pelicans when he was included in the trade for Jeff Green.
• The Thunder have recalled Grant Jerrett from the Oklahoma City Blue, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. This was Jerrett’s seventh jaunt of the season to the D-League.
• Archie Goodwin has been assigned to the Bakersfield Jam, the Suns’ D-League affiliate,the team has announced. This is Goodwin’s second trip to the D-League this season.

Here’s more out of the Western Conference:

• The Thunder have once again assigned Grant Jerrett to the Oklahoma City Blue, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. This will be Jerrett’s seventh sojourn of the season with the Blue. The 21-year-old has only appeared in four games with the Thunder this season, and has averaged 1.8 points and 1.0 rebound in 5.9 minutes per contest.
• When the Thunder inked Ish Smith to a deal using a hardship exception back in November, he was looked at as little more than a short-term insurance policy, but Smith turned that audition into a guaranteed contract for the remainder of the season, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman writes. Smith’s work ethic impressed the coaching staff, and with Reggie Jackson‘s future with the team cloudy, Smith remains an important part of Oklahoma City’s roster, Slater adds.
• The Pelicans created a traded player exception worth $507K for Russ Smith, and the Grizzlies created one valued at $3.15MM for Quincy Pondexter, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). Both players were part of the three-team deal with the Celtics for Jeff Green.
• Pondexter is overjoyed with the trade that brought him back to the Pelicans, Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com writes. “It’s unbelievable,” Pondexter said. “This game takes you full circle sometimes. To be back with [coach] Monty [Williams] and [GM] Dell [Demps] and the guys, there’s no place I’d rather be right now. [New Orleans] was always a second home in the league. I’m glad to be back.” Pondexter spent his rookie season in New Orleans and then was dealt to the Grizzlies for Greivis Vasquez.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.