The Houston Rockets invested in first round choice Lithuanian big man Donatas Motiejunas during the 2011 NBA Draft via a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves . That investment will now start to pay off in the coming 2012-13 NBA season with the announcement that the team has finally signed Motiejunas to a multi-year contract.
Despite being 7-0, 222 lbs., Motiejunas runs the floor well and averaged 15.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.35 steals for Polish League champion Asseco Prokom Gdynia in just over 26 minutes per game.
ESPN's John Hollinger describes him in a Toni Kukoc mold and writes, The biggest question about him is that he needs the ball in his hands to succeed and take advantage of his superior ballhandling skills for his size. But he may not be good enough to run an NBA offense through. Defensively, he's going to struggle. He's neither strong, nor athletic, nor tough; he's fairly mobile, however, and that may be able to carry him through as a sixth man, point forward type if his offense lives up to its billing."
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