Donatas Motiejunas was traded for one reason, he is an outstanding building block with all the skills to be a career "glue guy".
Hours before the trade deadline the Houston Rockets sent Lithuanian seven footer Donatas Motiejunas and scorer Marcus Thornton to the Detroit Pistons. In exchange Houston landed Detroit's 2016 first round pick (top 8 protected) while nearly functional center Joel Anthony and a future Houston second round pick went to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Rockets made this move to placate financial concerns. By making this deal the Rockets landed a first round pick (which was the rumored asking price for Dwight Howard) and cut salary to slide under the luxury tax during a disappointing season.