Ex-NBA forward rips Pistons over Bol Bol trade debacle

The Detroit Pistons are hearing it after voiding their recent trade for Bol Bol.

The Pistons agreed to a deal with the Denver Nuggets this week to acquire the seven-footer Bol in exchange for guard Rodney McGruder and a second-round pick. On Thursday though, news broke that the deal had been voided because Detroit did not pass Bol on the physical they had conducted on him.

Former NBA forward Donatas Motiejunas, best known for his stint with the Houston Rockets, ripped the Pistons on Twitter in response. The Rockets agreed to trade Motiejunas to the Pistons in 2016, but the Pistons also voided that deal after failing Motiejunas on his physical.

“How many time[s] @TheNBPA (NBA Players Association) will let this happen?” Motiejunas tweeted about the Bol debacle.

“I was failed on physicals and told by Detroit doctors [that] I will not play basketball again,” Motiejunas added. “6 years laters [sic] I am still here and have many years to go. They [are] destroying young players’ names and futures in [the] NBA by doing this.”

Motiejunas, 31, now plays in Europe after a stint in China. He played for two other NBA teams after the voided trade with the Pistons but has been out of the league since 2019.

Keith Smith of Spotrac also noted that the Pistons have a further history of voiding trades for failed physicals, which are rare occurrences in the NBA.

The 22-year-old Bol had health concerns coming out of college, which contributed to his slide in the NBA Draft. But that was nearly three years ago, and we had not heard of any troublesome health issues for Bol since. The circumstances, combined with the Pistons’ history of similar voided trades, certainly make them look a little sketchy here.

Photo: Mar 28, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Bol Bol (10) warms up before the game against the Atlanta Hawks at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports