The Houston Rockets appeared to have locked up their free-agent big man, Nene with a new deal on Saturday, but the new over-38 rule in the collective bargaining agreement scuttled those plans. ESPN's Bobby Marks explained why:
The structure of the Nene contract with Houston is three-years, $10.9m. Houston is not permitted to give Nene a four-year contract because of the Over 38 rule. The fourth season would have extended past his 38th birthday.
Originally, Nene was not interested in the three-year deal the Rockets were offering, and things were at a standstill until Sunday afternoon, when the two sides reportedly agreed to a new deal that will keep Nene in Houston.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news.
Nene has agreed to new deal with Houston, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2017
TNT's David Aldridge confirmed the report, adding that the agreed upon deal will pay Nene $11 million over three years.
Nene's new deal with Rox: three years/$11M (@wojespn first with news of new agreement).
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 2, 2017
Nene himself then tweeted out a seeming confirmation of the deal along with a number of rocket and trophy emojis.
H-Town Let's do this!!!! 🚀🚀🚀🚀 🏆🏆🏆
— Nene Hilario (@NeneHilario42) July 2, 2017
Nene had a very solid first season in Houston, averaging 9.1 points and 4.2 rebounds, while shooting a very efficient 61.7 percent in 67 games, coming off the bench behind Clint Capela in the majority of them. Unfortunately, a groin injury ended his campaign during the Rockets' second-round series with the San Antonio Spurs in the postseason.
Keeping the big man around is an important move for the Rockets, as he showed last year that he's still quite effective in limited minutes off the bench, and his return helps them keep some continuity during an offseason in which they've made a number of moves.
