Fair but hes hurt all time and cant be relied upon. I can fire up my kerosene powered trade generator but dude is sitting on keith jones desk. Are you confident he can provide minutes? Im not at practices maybe he is mashing. Why do you say silly things about 'knowing basketball' you make me laugh. I know - A the dude is always hurt and B chriss and hartenstein need those minutes. Cmon main
Ok, so what do you propose we do? He's under contract, waiving him accomplishes nothing, he's a good mentor, and his salary can be used as filler in a trade. So I'll ask again...... what exactly would you do differently??
Simple: another veteran player for leadership. And insurance just in case one of our young bigs gets injured.
Im saying he is 4th option at center on our team and somewhat pointless. I get the quadruple redudancy. The funny contradiction here is he is always hurt so he will give minutes. What do I propose? Not playing him ahead of hartenstein and chriss if /when he ever does come back. He is thwarting their growth if that happens. I propose we use him as trade filler. And I propose we trade him for some more utils
Am I confident Nene can give us good minutes as a situational back up center? Absolutely. There are only a few bigs that'll give us problems, Embiid, AD, Cousins, DJ etc..Primarily because of they're size.
If the big fella can stay healthy for decent stretches of time, a big question mark, he can still be useful in spots during games, depending on the matchups. More for the playoffs than the regular season. Why? He should be equally useful during the season, but Nene can't seem to stay healthy long enough to be used on a regular basis. So we use him on an irregular basis. The rest of the time, he's reportedly a great locker room presence and clearly a positive presence on the bench. I like Nene a lot, but we really need the kind of production we got from him a couple of seasons ago. As much as he would like to provide that, his body apparently won't let him. Has anything been done to address the physical ailments that have been laying him low? Is it his knees? Any procedures done there in the off-season? I'm genuinely curious. We have him under contract for 2 more season, no options. This season and next. Surely if something could be done about his physical problems, something would have been done. If not, why not? @Codman? Anyone know what's up with the big guy's health? Nene certainly looks like he works out like a madman. What isn't working? There's not a "cure?" I don't think it's simply his age.
Aside from being a good locker room influence, Nene's best contributions are against strong centers. Don't forget how helpful he was against Steven Adams. That said, Capela is getting to the point where he can be effective in those matchups. That is something I am going to watch this year with Capela. Along with his stamina of course. I liked what I saw from Hartenstein. But we need to see a lot more to see what he can do, and how consistently he can do it. I am sure @Codman could shed some insight on how Nene helps the team in his current role.
1) before Chriss/Knight trade I had Hartenstein as backup Center with Nene 3rd string. Hartenstein is proving himself worthy of that spot. 2) Chriss trade......Rockets would like to project Chriss as a Capela type Center. I’ve said Chris’s will do better with the Rockets as his role will be better defined and simplified. Suns wanted him more as PF.....Rockets want him as rim running Center, accepting lobs, defending the rim, getting blocks/rebounds, and guarding smaller players out on the perimeter when forced on switches. I believe he can do this; doesn’t look much worse than Capela this time last year. But what if Chris’s doesn’t improve? Need for Nene, because of strength and experience. 3) if one believes Capela/Hartenstein/Chriss can fill the position of center while Tucker/Melo and others (Qi,Gary Clark, James Ennis) can be “Small-Ball” centers.....then Nene may be included in a trade proposal. Jimmy Butler deal for example. Don’t hold it against the Rockets for wanting to see more of Tucker/Melo/Hartenstein/Chriss (especially)/ Qi/Gary Clark/Edwards/Ennis before pulling the trigger on dealing Nene. I for one don’t mind Nene being with the team longer.....but I am finding it harder to see who will be cut. I thought MCW would never make it; MCW is making the best of his slashing/cutting to basket. He still isn’t making his 3’s. Looks out of control still offensively and defensively; but his energy covers it up some.....at least here in the preseason.
He doesnt get abused on switches though? LOL either way, no nene is better than Chriss being actually on the court haha. Plus for real we got Hartenstein, we are cool.
Yea at this point, Nene has some issues. But I still see value him for him on this roster in terms of team chemistry and mentoring the young guys. And the reason hes still on our roster is cause he was really greaat for us 2 years ago, even won us a playoff game. Yea hes older and has injury issues but when he CAN play he's still MILES BETTER THAN CHRISS STOP MENTIONING HIM WITH NENE. We have our back C in Hartenstein, we are ok.
I for one am hoping for Capeoria. Might be a better nickname for Capela though. ****, thwarted again...
I love Nene, I really do. It just seems he can’t physically play anymore. I’m hoping he’s more fit this season, because there’s nothing quite like a “Nenasty”
Interesting fact, his name literally translates to "hilarious baby" in portuguese. But his nickname is grey beard, so I think that answers your question -- giving that veteran presence to show the young ones how to do the right things.