NBA Free Agents 2011: Nene's Suitors Will Regret Giving Big Man a Max Deal

Nene is probably going to sign a max-year, max-money contract this offseason with a team and they are going to regret it sooner than later.

The Brazilian big man is a solid center but he isn’t one of the best in the game and should not be paid like one of the elite. Just look at his numbers.

He hasn’t averaged more than 7.8 rebounds (a career high) over the past three years despite playing over 30 minutes a game with the Nuggets. His scoring isn’t superb and he’s only managed to put up a little over 14 points a contest in that three-year stretch. 

He averages just about one block a game and more should be expected out of someone who patrols the paint so frequently. His defense is solid in spite of that and is probably the only reason he’s going to get him paid with such a premium being placed on that luxury nowadays.

The bad thing about this? It’s his ceiling. Nene is in the prime of his career and isn’t going to magically start doubling is scoring, tripling his blocks or quadrupling up on his rebounds per night just because he got a fat new contract.

You know exactly what you are getting with Nene and that may be worth it for some teams like the Nets, whose deep-pocketed Russian owner seems primed to shell out big bucks for anyone that might conceivably convince Deron Williams to stay in town.

But you only know what you are getting if the center is healthy. That’s a big question mark and he was plagued by injury during his first few seasons in the league.

He’s missed an entire year with a torn ACL, underwent a cancer scare and has had various other ailments severely affect his playing time in the past.

I can’t justify someone paying max money for a player who certainly doesn’t have the skills, and never will, of the superstars that typically command that kind of paycheck.

He also won’t help to sell tickets.

Say the Nets land him—do you think anyone in Brooklyn is going to be camping out for season tickets to watch Nene? Do you think Nene is going to have the top-selling jersey in the league? You’d be insane to.

There’s a very limited upside to signing someone like Nene for a max deal and the bad definitely outweighs the good for most teams.

I think whoever signs him had best hold onto their amnesty clause to cut him free down the road because there is no way, no how that he is living up to that salary.