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Houston Rockets Free Agency 2017: Getting Nene a new deal was crucial

By Brian K. Patterson

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - APRIL 23: Nene Hilario
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - APRIL 23: Nene Hilario /
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The Houston Rockets were able re-sign one of their own into a contract that will likely have him locked in for the rest of his career.

In a deal that was announced late last night, the Houston Rockets have decided to bring Nene Hilario back and won’t be a short-term deal either.  With the type of deal that he received, this certainly meant that team was confident that he’d be able to contribute in the latter stages of his career.

The Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen broke the original story:

Nene was signed using the Non-Bird exception, allowing the team to go over the cap to sign him to this deal.

His average salary per season will around $3.7 million, up from the $2.8 million that he earned last season on a one-year deal.  That’s a 43 percent increase in annual pay.

Does he deserve it?  Absolutely and this contract is worth next to nil as far as on the books.  But the type of heart, hustle, sweat and strain that he brings are invaluable and that’s why he still needed to be with the Rockets.

Here’s what Nene said right at the end of the season during exit interviews, a quote that I love and it certainly rings true at this moment:

UPDATE: According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Rockets CANNOT sign Nene to a four-year deal as he’s skirting the premises of the “Over-38” rule, a new provision in the current collective bargaining agreement.  He would’ve been 38-years-old in the 4th year of his previously proposed deal.  He’ll earn $3.6 million per, roughly the same with one year taken away that’s guaranteed:

UPDATE #2:  Nene isn’t happy that a year has been shaved off as a result of the Association not being able to approve a four-year deal.  He couldn’t get an agreement with the Rockets so he has now been reinstated back to free agency, per Shams Charania.  Hopefully he can come to the table in future if he doesn’t find a better deal elsewhere:

FINAL UPDATE:  Nene has come back to the table and has agreed to a three-year, $11 million per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.  He basically has taken the modified deal without the 4th year but the Rockets must’ve sweetened the pot with an extra $200K.  It’s great to know that Nene will back in uniform:

He couldn’t been more correct and I wanted him back!  Keith Jones and the rest of the training staff has to be commended for working up a plan to keep him healthy for the season.  They managed his minutes well and gave him off days to ensure that he’d be ready to contribute when needed.  He truly was the enforcer in the paint, letting it be known that if you deal with him, there were going to be some serious repercussions.

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Remember how Nene got in Dewayne Dedmon‘s face when he has jawing at James Harden during Game 1 of the semis this year?  That’s the type of player we need and he’ll provide tremendous veteran leadership as well as being a mentor for Clint Capela, who is on the cusp of being really good center in today’s league of run-and-gun and three-pointers.

He truly has become one of my favorite Rockets just because of the grit that he lays out on the floor each and every game.

Next: A tribute to Patrick Beverley

Welcome back Nene, it’ll be damn good to see you on the court this season.

Nene, 34, averaged 9.1 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 61.7 percent from the field in 67 games (eight starts) in 2016-17.

Go Rockets.

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