Rox Center: Nene

No.

He's overrated and will continue to be overpaid.

NeNe is a good offensive player(very good passing bigman) that plays decent position D. But he doesn't hit the boards and isn't a shotblocker.
One can't help but like him as a person, but he doesn't impact games on a consistent basis.

 

Nene does get 1 blk per game, so he's somewhat of a presence inside-- more so than the 6'9''/6'6'' Scola/Hayes combo at least. I don't think he's any worse of a rebounder than, say, Marc Gasol is, and people quite like Gasol.

In the end, it's hard enough getting a competent big (or even one who can hoop and chew gum at the same time), searching for one without flaws is probably akin to looking for unicorns. We are, after all, living in a world where the Blazers are considering offering Oden $40 mil for 4 years, even though he pretty much missed his entire NBA career due to injury.

So, I am happy if the Rockets getting any big who can help, including Nene. Hell, chances are they will have trouble getting any of the significant centers on the market-- even a guy like Sam Dalembert will have many suitors.

 

Why would Denver do that?

 

Free agent.

 

I think he's trying to force the Nuggets to extend him before the new CBA.

 

No doubt he's a drastic improvement over our current situation. That said, I think we need to figure out what our timeframe is here first off. Are we reloading(on the fly) or are we rebuilding?

Gasol vs. NeNe .....There are many similarities as both are primarily offensive players who play decent position defense. Marc of course is younger with All Star upside IMO though. He's bigger and more of a true 5 to me. With either of these guys I think you need a power forward who is athletic, can pound the boards, and play great interior defense....somebody with quite a bit of length. I do think both should command close to the same salary with Marc bringing in a bit more.
Yes, unfortunately the NBA center seems to have gone the way of the DoDo. Because of this AND our present needs I would actually consider Dalembert, but as you mentioned the rarity of these dudes will likely price him out of reach.

 

Deandre or Demarcus, please.

 

throw in wilson chandler and we'll talk...

 

lolwut?

Dwight
Bogut
Noah
Gasol
Horford
Yao
Lopez
Love (Forward Center)

Nene Obviously not Top 5

as of this moment Nene = Cousins. So He Barely Cracks top 10.
And you can still argue that Bynum is better than him too.

so he may not even be top 10

 

I think this is the answer.

He was all about staying still in Denver earlier this season, and any agent worth a dime should know that opting out in the face of the expiring CBA would be recklessly foolish.

 

That sounds damn good to me.

 

Nope. We don't have room even if we renounced Hayes and Yao. It would have to be a S&T. He has to want to come here and leave Denver and Denver has to have enough trade incentive to do the deal.

 

Cap room or not, he is still a free agent.

 

He may well be angling for an extension, though it would seem that the parties are not really close to an agreement. They've had plenty of time to work an extension out and there's nothing so far.

I have to disagree that it doesn't make sense for him to opt out. If he doesn't opt out, he only has $12 million in guaranteed money, under any plausible CBA scenario, it would seem that he can get at least a multi-year contract for comparable per-year money (from Denver, from a team with cap room or in a sign-and-trade) . It's more risky to play under a 1-year contract-- if he gets injured next season, for example, he might well get much less as a FA the year after.

I think Morey and the team has made clear that their "time frame" is "as soon as possible, preferably right now." They've publicly stated that they are not going to "tank" or become "terrible" in order to get better. As such, I'd think they would be fine with signing a guy who will help the team improve significantly, even if he is not a superstar, as long as the money is not outrageous given the market.

 

I'd rather try to sell a soon-to-be rebuilding Phoenix team on the merits of parting with Gortat if we take on Childress' contract before I'd jump at the chance to offer Nene $11-14M per year.

 

What confuses me is the fact that so many want to give away one of the most efficient scorers in the league for a 2nd tier center, when Scola+ and a pick may be all that is required. We could draft a center like Nene this year if we were somehow able to move up. Any player coming to Houston would want someone like Martin to play with. If JR Smith or Wilson Chandler were involved, maybe. Martin should only be traded in a package for a superstar.

 

We should probably take whichever one we can get our grubby mitts on.

 

I agree, but without gutting our team in the process.

 

Nene becoming a Rocket would have more to do with Nene's decison to want to come to Houston than it would be the Rockets simply making a valiant attempt. He is however, the best free agent Center this offseason except for Marc Gasol.

-Nene is going to get paid either way. He spoke out last season about wanting to stay in Denver, and if that is the case it will easily re-sign with Denver for about the same, if not more than the Rockets could offer. The only way Nene signs with the Rockets is if he truely wants out of Denver, which doesn't seem to be the case by everything he has stated this last season.

-D'Andre Jordan is the person I am considering most likely to be on the Rockets free agent list. I could see him having major interest in coming to Houston, however the Rockets know what he is worth, and will not pay want to him what the Clippers will most likely shell out to keep him for the future.

He has major positives - shot blocking, rebounding, excellent defender, plays above the rim, and has tons of potential to get better, but if you are thinking he is the a legit top flight starting Center in the NBA you are wrong. He can start, but he is not ideal to close out games. He makes tons of mental mistakes on offense and defense, and has very little to offer on the offensive end other than a few power dunks when left open.

-Samuel Dalembert is third on the list here, but he is who he is. Quality shot blocking center who isn't a liability on offense, but he will not develop into much more. Actually, being a big, his best days might already be over. For a young and up and coming team, he just isnt the right fit. D'Andre Jordan should be pursued over Dalembert. Even if it costs the Rockets a bit more.

-Marc Gasol- Naganahappen

 

I don't think it has anything to do with "rather." It's hard to find any good center, you can't exactly get that choosy among them.