Weird.Did David Stern come out of retirement to block Nene to Houston again? Stern must have been in hibernation when Nene signed with us last year.
There were no lingering injuries. The team for precautionary measures held him out certain games for rest. We had that planned when we signed him. The team has to list a injury every time a player sits a game. Lets not diminish Nene's significance because hes just a "role player". Solid role players help win championships too fam
This seems like a very easy fix. Nene can't sign a 4 year deal. So why not just give him a one year deal this off season, and a 3 year deal next off season? That would still allow him to retire after his 2nd or 3rd season and get paid for all 4.
I love nene but if he is asking to break the bank for him that is insane. He played how many games this past season? He also got injured against the Spurs a time we needed his leadership and strength the most. Unless he joins gsw, Minnesota, cleveland, possibly okc... i don't see him getting a chance to play for the ring and making bank at the same time. He's also 34. Nene needs to soul search and figure out what he really wants.
At his age and coming off an injury, it would make no sense for him to agree to a short-term deal unless it was significantly front loaded, which we can't do at the moment without dipping into the MLE. We're already offering him as much per year as we possibly can (see table below), so losing the 4th year is big. Here's the max we initially thought we could offer Nene (outside MLE) as our own Non-Bird free agent, starting at 120% of last year's salary and applying a 5% raise each year. Year 1: $3,477,600 Year 2: $3,651,480 Year 3: $3,834,054 Year 4: $4,025,757 The new Over-38 Rule effectively eliminates the 4th year, and therein lies the problem.
I'm saying he could sign a one year deal this free agency, with a handshake agreement that he'll get a 3 year offer next free agency. Therefor providing him the same salary over 4 seasons, with the same ability to retire early. All while saving the Rockets MLE.
I would think they maybe agree to a 2 year deal (2nd year player option) with that in mind. We'll see what works out.
