Hoops Habit
Fansided

2017 NBA free agency grades: Nene agrees to re-sign with Houston Rockets

By Josh Cornelissen

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - APRIL 23: Nene Hilario #42 of the Houston Rockets celebrates after Game Four against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2017 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Quarterfinals on April 23, 2017 in Oklahoma City. The Rockets defeated the Thunder 113-109. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by J Pat Carter/Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - APRIL 23: Nene Hilario #42 of the Houston Rockets celebrates after Game Four against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2017 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Quarterfinals on April 23, 2017 in Oklahoma City. The Rockets defeated the Thunder 113-109. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by J Pat Carter/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

2017 NBA free agency kicked off a few hours early. The Houston Rockets signed center Nene to a new contract as they prepare to challenge in the West.

UPDATE: Per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the structure of Nene’s contract has been changed to three years, $10.9 million, since Houston cannot give him a four-year deal due to the Over 38 rule. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the two sides agreed upon a three-year, $11 million deal.

NBA free agents cannot officially sign contracts until July 7. They are not allowed to formally engage in contract discussions until 12:00 a.m. ET on July 1. Despite all of that, Nene became one of the first free agents to agree to sign with the Houston Rockets around 11:00 p.m. ET.

According to the Houston Chronicle‘s Jonathan Feigen, the Rockets will re-sign backup big man Nene to a four-year, $15 million deal.

Nene was far from the first center to sign one year ago, when the league slung around massive contracts for free agent towers in Timofey Mozgov, Joakim Noah and Bismack Biyombo — each making at least $16 million per year on four-year contracts. Once the money quickly dried up, the remaining veteran centers saw the market shrink drastically.

The former Washington Wizards and Denver Nuggets big man was one of those to encounter this second market, and signed a one-year contract for just $2.9 million with the Rockets. A solid contributor off of the bench for Houston, Nene played a key role in the postseason as the team advanced to the second round.

Going into 2017 NBA free agency, Houston found itself with limited options to improve the team. They ignored those limitations and traded for All-NBA point guard Chris Paul without sacrificing any vital pieces. That set the stage to build a team on the margins that could challenge the Golden State Warriors.

Operating over the cap, the Rockets had a pair of exceptions to add players with, and re-signing Nene for more than a few million dollars meant they would have to dip into one of those exceptions — valuable pools of money to add talent to the roster. Instead, they used Nene’s non-Bird rights to re-sign the center without touching their available money.

The deal is a straight four-year deal, with no early outs for neither Nene nor the Rockets:

The 15-year veteran does not have the legs to be a primary option at center, which makes Houston such a great fit. Young starting center Clint Capela can soak up minutes, while leaving the door open for Nene to play crunch-time minutes when the games truly matter.

More from Hoops Habit

This is the best kind of basketball situation for Nene, who could have sought a larger payday on the open market. But few teams were going to have significantly larger piles of money earmarked for a veteran backup center, especially when last year’s example showed there will be bargains floating around in a week.

For Houston, they get a starter-caliber center at a bargain price. While he is older than most — he will turn 35 before the start of the season — the Rockets are getting him for a bargain. There is very little risk to paying Nene less than $4 million per year.

The Rockets cannot know how long Nene will continue to be a solid contributor. But rather than see Nene look around elsewhere to find $15 million in guaranteed money, they offered a longer contract than anyone else would be offering in order to convince Nene to stay.

This is not the type of a move that will change the face of the league, and it is not going to make or break Houston’s chance to compete with the Warriors. But spending money wisely to improve a team in small and large ways is the mark of a successful franchise, and general manager Daryl Morey has shown over the past few days that he is committed to doing just that.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far

For Nene, he’s locked up money that will keep coming in until he is almost 38 years old. That’s the dream for a player who was never a star, and he will continue to show how he can contribute on a winning teams for years to come.

Grade: A-

Home/Houston Rockets