More Insider on Maybiner "Nene" Hilario

If we can get this guy....if he won't have any contract problems....He could play center and power forward for us. 6'10", 260, 7'4" wingspan. Hmn.
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It may no longer be fair to call Benetton Treviso's Nickoloz Tskitishvili the draft's international man of mystery. Now that scouts and GM's from every NBA team are making the trip to Treviso, Italy (the Knicks' Scott Layden is there right now), teams have at least seen him practice, run him through a workout or two and understand his contract situation.

The same can't be said for Brazilian big man Maybyner "Nene" Hilario. Hilario, who left Brazil about a month ago, is in Cleveland training, still waiting for his chance to work out for NBA teams.

Because of NBA rules for underclassmen, teams cannot bring him in for workouts until May 18th. His agent, Michael Coyne, told Insider that he's received interest from every team in the lottery and will bring Nene to Chicago during the pre-draft camp to run a skills workout similar to what Yao Ming did.

In the meantime, Nene's lifting weights, working on his jumper and is the main topic of discussion and intrigue in NBA circles. Exactly who is this kid and, equally important, will he be able to play in the NBA this season?

Nene burst onto the scene during the 2001 Goodwill Games when he helped Brazil push the Dream Team to overtime. Nene's shot blocking and rebounding aggressiveness caught the eye of scouts. The 19-year-old Nene ended the game with eight points, seven rebounds and five blocks in just 18 minutes of play. Since then Nene (which means "baby" in Portuguese) has grown. Coyne told Insider that he now measures 6-foot-10 in bare feet, weighs 260 pounds with only 6.8 percent body fat and has an incredible 7-foot-4 and 3/4 wingspan. That's the same wingspan as Yao Ming, folks.

Athletically, Nene has it all. He's explosive, jumps out of the gym, crashes the boards and is an excellent shot blocker. According to several NBA scouts who've watched Nene play, he has polished moves down on the block and runs the floor in a way that's reminiscent of a young Shawn Kemp.

The knocks on Nene are his outside shooting (though Coyne says in a month he's increased his range to 18 feet), his free-throw shooting (Coyne insists he's a 75 percent free-throw shooter; scouts say it's more like 60 percent) and his knack for drawing early fouls.

Coyne put Nene's name in the draft, but teams are still unclear whether he'll be able to get out of a long-term contract with Vasco de Gama. That fact, more than anything else, has muddied Nene's status in the draft.

His agent knows a thing or two about trying to get foreigners in tough situations into the NBA. He represented 7-foot-8 North Korean giant Michael Ri before the U.S. State department stepped in and prohibited teams from signing him. He also was the first U.S. agent of record for Yao Ming before things got really messy.

Coyne told Insider he's still trying to secure a release for Nene, but he's confident that the situation will be resolved before the draft on June 26th. Coyne contends that Vasco de Gama hasn't paid Nene in over a year. Nene's contract stipulates that if he goes a month without being paid, the contract becomes void.

If Coyne can show teams that Nene is free and clear to join the NBA, several league executives predicted that he would be a lottery pick if what Coyne is saying is true.

"If he's really that big, and if he's really worked on his game, his upside is potentially as good as any big man in the draft," one league executive told Insider. "He's already shown [in the Goodwill Games] that he can step in immediately and play tough defense, block shots and hit the offensive boards. With a little coaching and a few years of experience, he could be a handful on the offensive end too."

One scout went even further. "If he gets out of his contract, I think he's in a dead heat with Chris Wilcox as the top power forward in the draft."

 

You're right! Sorry, I forgot.

His footwork should be good. Maybe Rudy and CD can get him to samba at his workout.