Lithuanian forward Donatas Motiejunas, a five-year veteran of the NBA with the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans, is making his return to the NBA for the San Antonio Spurs. As announced in a press release, Motiejunas will join the Spurs roster as their 17th member, capping off his two seasons spent with the Shandong Golden Stars.
The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed forward Donatas Motiejunas (doh-NAH-tahs moe-tee-YOU-nus). Per team policy, terms of the contract were not announced.
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— Donatas Motiejunas (@DonatasMot) April 4, 2019
Motiejunas, 7-0/220, has spent the past two seasons with the Shandong Golden Stars of the Chinese Basketball Association, averaging 27.3 points, 14.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists during the 2018-19 campaign.
The Kaunas, Lithuania native previously spent five seasons in the NBA with the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans, holding career averages of 7.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists. In 2014-15 for Houston, Motiejunas averaged 12.0 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 36.8 percent from beyond the arc.
The signing of Donatas Motiejunas is a move by the Spurs to bolster their shooting and depth as they head into the playoffs, having secured their position for offseason basketball, currently holding a record of 45-34. The height and ability to stretch the floor Motiejunas offers the Spurs will be especially appreciated with the absence of Pau Gasol, who left the team in a buyout to join the Milwaukee Bucks early last month.
