Rockets renounce Motiejunas, making him UFA

The long, drawn out saga involving Donatas Motiejunas and the Houston Rockets has come to an end, with the team officially renouncing his rights on Thursday and making the Lithuanian big man an unrestricted free agent.

After enjoying a career year in 2014-15, Motiejunas was hampered by a herniated disc last season that required surgery, and was eventually dealt to Detroit at the trade deadline, only for the Pistons to rescind the deal after Motiejunas failed a physical.

The 26-year-old became a restricted free agent this past summer after awkwardly finishing last season with the Rockets, and went unsigned until the Brooklyn Nets inked him to an offer sheet earlier this month. Houston then matched the Nets' offer, and renegotiated a reported four-year, $35-million extension with Motiejunas.

The 2011 20th overall pick was then expected to be in Mike D'Antoni's lineup on Dec. 10 against Dallas, but was held out pending more medical information, which was the last update on the situation before Thursday.

While there are obvious questions to be answered surrounding Motiejunas' health, he should still attract interest on the open market, especially without the looming possibility of the Rockets matching any offers for his services.

In four seasons with Houston, Motiejunas averaged 7.8 points and four rebounds on an effective field-goal percentage of 51.3 in 19 minutes per game. During the 2014-15 campaign - the only season in which he cracked the 70-game mark - Motiejunas averaged 12 points and 5.9 rebounds (mostly as a starter), and knocked down 36.8 percent of his 3-point attempts.