Nene the Baby

For those of you who don't know, the name Nene means baby in Portuguese.  That name seemingly fits him perfectly.  Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post recently sat down with Nene to learn that he may opt out of his contract this offseason.  In the article, Nene goes on about how he feels unappreciated by the organization and wants the salary he thinks he deserves.  He talks about how much he has sacrificed for this team.  If you ask me, he's being a big baby.

First of all, this would be a horrible time for Nene to opt out.  With the CBA set to expire and the uncertainty of how much players can make, he would be leaving a lot on the table.  If it's money that Nene is interested in, it would be wise of him to stay under contract for the final year.

Nene complains about not being respected, and I'm not so sure his play demands full respect.  Every year, Nene is supposed to break out and have a huge season, finally live up to the potential that he has.  And every year, he plays mediocre.  With his size and athleticism, he should dominate inside.  Instead, he remains soft and unwilling to bruise inside the paint.  The most rebounds he has ever averaged in a season is 7.8 a game.  Are you kidding me?  That number should be much higher, but he's not aggressive enough.  This past year he averaged 14.5 points a game.  Nene is a guy who could easily average 20 and 10 a game and absolutely should if he expects to get paid as the top centers do in the league.

Sure, you can make the argument that he's out of position, playing center when he's really a power forward, but with the frame Nene has, he is suited perfectly to be a center.  He complains that he likes playing power forward better, but honestly, his numbers weren't any better when he did play there consistently, so I don't buy that argument.

When he says that he has sacrificed a lot for this team, that I am ok with.  This is a man who has overcome two major injuries and cancer.  He is a tough guy when it comes to that aspect of thing.  He has fought his way back on the court, and while on the court he needs to exhibit that same fighting spirt and bully people down low.

For Nene to get the respect he thinks he deserves, he's got to step up his game this coming season.  He turns 29 later this year, so the time to reach his potential is dwindling fast.  There aren't many guys his age who have finally broken through with big years after underachieving their entire careers, so Nene has to get work done, and fast.  If he choses to return to the Nuggets, he'll have some tough competition in Timofey Mozgov and Kosta Koufos at center.  That could also up the door for him to return to power forward, given that Kenyon Martin either doesn't return or comes off the bench next season.  Either way, Nene has something to prove next season, and I really hope he does.  Just look at game one versus the Thunder in this years playoffs.  He had a dominant game, and while they didn't win, he kept them in from start to finish.  That's the Nene I one day dream to see game in and game out.