What happened to him? early last year he looked great the embodiment of Heart and effort Did he just lack talent? Size? or did something change I remember alot of folx were pissed because we traded for Langhi Rocket River
I live in Dallas, and get to see a lot of Mavs basketball. Najera had a good preseason, and had some solid spot minutes early in the year. The reality of it is this: Najera is a scrapper, and the upside just isn't really there. His talent level is not expected to increase dramatically. He was a born role player. In all honesty, he just isn't good enough to garner a lot of minutes. So Dallas played him sparingly in times of large leads, large deficits, or in games when the frontline was depleted with injuries, etc.
Hoop T, I think being behind Dirk and Finley, and then Howard in late season just pushed his minutes down because he was a rookie. I think that he really didn't get enough time to prove himself good or bad. Keep in mind the Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, and Jermaine O'Neal both got few minutes in their first couple of seasons. Now i'm not saying that he has THAT kind of potential, but they did resign him and really...you never know.
Actually the coaches really like Najera but he has had groin problems all year. Being a rookie and making rookie mistakes didn't help either. I totally disagree that he is a role player only. He is a step above that imo.
Will ditto what Hoop-T said. Wonderful attitude and ferocious competitor and rebounder, but a spot player. Langhi has, IMHO, more upside potential. Wish we could transplant his great attitude and desire to Cato!!
The groing injury, and the fact that Nellie generally doesn't play rookies especially ones that tend to make mental errors that cost his team wins is right on point. Najera in my opinion is going to be a very good bench player but not much else. He has a ton of heart, and I think will be comparable to "Thunder" Dan Marjele once he gets his shot down.
Personally, I have always been a fan of the Mavs commericial up here where they interview fans of Najera's from his home town. One of the residents says (in Spanish), "I like Edwardo because he is the best player in the NBA." Or something to that effect.
Marjele was a far more talented player than Najera in his heyday.I would like to see Najera get more minutes becuase he is a great hustler and could improve his shot to become a good player off the bench for the Mavs.
