The most intriguing Houston Rockets' rookie of this summer's draft class, Donatas Motiejunas, recently took part in an interview with Erildas Budraitis of realgm.com.
↵What did D-Mo have to say?
↵↵↵RealGM: All young basketball players have their basketball idols. Could you tell us if your basketball idols were from NBA or Europe?
↵Motiejunas: It has always been players from Europe; for example, Luis Scola has been my idol all my life, I followed him all the time. When he moved to the NBA, it was difficult to watch his game, but I still was doing that.
↵
It's a good sign that he has been able to watch Scola's game for a little while, and it seems like he has a good feel for what the Rockets do on offense. Even with new coach Kevin McHale and his offensive sets, I feel comfortable that Motiejunas can mesh well with this team.
↵↵↵RealGM: You gained some muscle mass over the last few years. Is it just you getting matured or you are specificaly working on this thing?
↵Motiejunas: I was always working in the weight room. Some players get matured earlier, some later. What can do if Valanciunas, who is 18 or 19-year-old, looks like me at 21-years-old… I have been working in the weight room hard and long hours all the time. You can’t fight with nature.
↵
I felt this was another important question because it's widely known that D-Mo might lack the strength to play with some of the bigger, heavier post guys in the NBA. He is listed at 224 pounds, but I still think he needs to add more muscle in order to reach his full potential. While no one questions Motiejunas' strong offensive skill set, it's his defense that might need some more work.
↵Check out the full interview to get a fresh perspective on Motiejunas and why the Rockets felt comfortable trading up for him in the first round.