Nene

[FAH1223]

Hey Nene. How were the Olympics. I hope you enjoyed the experience.

Can we get a Fing return date by someone already. Didn't he just go to the doctors.

might have been his last Olympics since he is 30, I don't blame him for playing for his country. Not everyone can do that. Plus he didn't even play big minutes in the Olympics

[David Campo]

Nuggets fan here...

Nene has always done this stuff. He's an extremely talented, super-nice guy, but he doesn't "play hurt". As someone up-thread said, he's big on the phrase, "I don't want to return until I'm 100%". Is anyone ever 100%? How many professional athletes don't play with some pain somewhere? Contrast Nene to Nuggets backup PG Andre Miller, who's 35 and has missed four games in his career. He's just tough. Nene isn't.

Per Javale, he impressed Hakeem tremendously, but he's not ready to start. George Karl prefers to bring him off the bench with the aforementioned Andre Miller, the best lob passer in NBA history, which plays to his strengths. Just as I gather he did in D.C., he mixes amazing moments with dumb moments, but he seems to be increasing the former and decreasing the latter. We Nuggets fans are thankful we have him, and hope he eventually lives up to his contract. Nene, to me, has always had the potential to be the poor man's Hakeem, but at this point in his career, it's clear he's never going to be more than what he is today. He too has some amazing moments, and you wonder why he can't do it all the time. The key is (IMO), basketball just doesn't mean that much to him. Jesus and his marriage are far and beyond his top priorities with basketball just being a job. However, we all know, if you call in sick to a job this often, you're gone. I'm sure most Nuggets fans wish him well in Washington.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Nuggets fan here...

Nene has always done this stuff. He's an extremely talented, super-nice guy, but he doesn't "play hurt". As someone up-thread said, he's big on the phrase, "I don't want to return until I'm 100%". Is anyone ever 100%? How many professional athletes don't play with some pain somewhere? Contrast Nene to Nuggets backup PG Andre Miller, who's 35 and has missed four games in his career. He's just tough. Nene isn't.

Per Javale, he impressed Hakeem tremendously, but he's not ready to start. George Karl prefers to bring him off the bench with the aforementioned Andre Miller, the best lob passer in NBA history, which plays to his strengths. Just as I gather he did in D.C., he mixes amazing moments with dumb moments, but he seems to be increasing the former and decreasing the latter. We Nuggets fans are thankful we have him, and hope he eventually lives up to his contract. Nene, to me, has always had the potential to be the poor man's Hakeem, but at this point in his career, it's clear he's never going to be more than what he is today. He too has some amazing moments, and you wonder why he can't do it all the time. The key is (IMO), basketball just doesn't mean that much to him. Jesus and his marriage are far and beyond his top priorities with basketball just being a job. However, we all know, if you call in sick to a job this often, you're gone. I'm sure most Nuggets fans wish him well in Washington.

You guys made out like bandits with McGee, David Campo. (They got rid of a bad contract and got a younger, healthier, useful player at the same position.) I said that was a bad trade the day it happened. Washington would have been far better off just letting McGee walk for nothing than with picking up 13M a season for a guy with chronic foot problems.

The Wizards were angry and trying to imply Javale cared about stats. They feuded with his mother publicly. As far as earning his contract goes, the Wizards said McGee would demand $14M per season. The Wizards balked at the idea of paying McGee what DeAndre Jordan received, 4 years and $43M. Instead, they traded for 30-yr old Nene, who Denver had just signed for 5 years, $65M. Common sense or critical thinking skills by anyone trading for Nene, (Ernie Grunfeld seems to lack critical thinking skills), should have surmised that Denver had buyer's remorse. Nene had missed a lot of games with nagging injuries after signing his deal. Instead of doing due diligence, Ted Leonsis and Ernie Grunfeld at the very end of the trade deadline traded a young, freakish athlete, for an injury-prone, older player with a big contract.

Javale got 4 years, $44M, from Denver. http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... eja01.html

It boggles my mind that the Wizards could not have at least tried Seraphin at PF and McGee at C.

[David Campo]

You've got the analysis correct. We're happy with Javale. So far Mama's presence has helped motivate Javale, but I can see how she could become a problem. Tough-minded free spirit with a mean streak.

[keynote]

Nene, 30, visited Mark S. Myerson, the medical director at the Institute for Foot and Ankle Reconstruction at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore, last week and said he was told that he was “probably three weeks away.” When asked to elaborate on whether that meant he would play or begin practicing in three weeks, Nene hedged off a specific timeline, simply explaining how he continues to deal with soreness as a result of plantar fasciitis near the heel of his left foot.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wi ... story.html

So, the outer edge of "2-3 weeks," then.

[hands11]

Nene, 30, visited Mark S. Myerson, the medical director at the Institute for Foot and Ankle Reconstruction at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore, last week and said he was told that he was “probably three weeks away.” When asked to elaborate on whether that meant he would play or begin practicing in three weeks, Nene hedged off a specific timeline, simply explaining how he continues to deal with soreness as a result of plantar fasciitis near the heel of his left foot.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wi ... story.html

So, the outer edge of "2-3 weeks," then.

For the first time, Nene spoke at length about how the problem began and the frustration he feels about the injury and with outsiders who don’t understand its severity.

“They have no clue,” Nene said, adding that he actually tore a ligament in the bottom of his foot and that another is irritated and causing more problems. “They think it’s simple pain.”

“It’s a privilege to be in the Olympics. To have that kind of experience in your career. . . is a big thing,” Nene said, adding that he was disappointed with his performance. “I knew I could do better. People don’t know when you go to the hotel room, for the physical therapy, how many times I cried in pain. They don’t know that.”

“I want that thing to heal 100 percent, because I don’t want to shrink my career,” Nene said. “I need to take care of it right now. I want to finish the pain, because it is still painful. I try sometimes, like, ‘Hurry up,’ when I have physical therapy. That could be a mistake. I need to be true with myself and know this is a serious situation.”

So he keeps saying " people just don't know". Yeah. We don't know because no one told us.

He said, " I tore a ligament in the bottom of his foot and that another is irritated and causing more problems If it is so serious, then you shouldn't have played in the Olympics. Who know what and when ?

If any of this was know before the trade, did he tell the Wizards or did he cover it up ?

But he clearly was not right by the Olympics but he prepared, practiced and played anyway.
What the hell was he thinking ?

This is a lot of information that has been missing. Board should have a field day with this.

Queuing you up CCJ.

[closg00]

Nene said he started feeling discomfort in his left foot last December in Denver, “because I worked real hard during the lockout.” The culprit may have been “bad shoes,” he said, but he also felt obligated to keep playing through it after the Nuggets gave him a five-year, $65 million contract in free agency.

Denver shut him down for a few games in January — including a win in Washington — with a “bruised left heel” and was forced to give him an extended break after he played 22 minutes in Indiana and the problem spread to his left calf. Nene missed 10 consecutive games to rest and said he also received a cortisone shot to numb the pain.[

“That make my bone weak and I don’t take enough time to recover,” Nene said of the shot. “Usually, you’re supposed to take three weeks, four weeks, I just took like 10 days.”

Nene returned to play five more games for Denver before the Wizards acquired him in a three-team trade that shipped out JaVale McGee and Nick Young. But the 6-foot-11 big man admitted that during his final months with the Nuggets, he rarely practiced, choosing to tax his body — and his foot — in games instead.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wi ... story.html

Washington traded for Denver's damaged-goods PERIOD!! Nene playing part time in the Olympics made his injury worse, but he was already damaged-goods upon his arrival in Washington.

Denver, Minnesota, and New Orleans, wake-up each day thankful that Ernie Grunfeld is an NBA General Manager.

[Induveca]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_ ... #section_2

Damaged goods is a perfect way to describe him. Sounds essentially like micro-tears in the foot tendons. That comes from overuse, and eventually rip.

I've had a similar problem in my arm from weightlifting, and at one point ripped a tendon in my bicep. Had surgery and 6 weeks later I was lifting light weights, 3 months later was back to 95%, 6 months 100%. The surgery was risky due to nerve damage, but I came out fine.

Unless Nene has surgery, which would likely keep him out a year....he'll likely be damaged for his career. Funny enough, if he is getting cortisone injections it's just making him feel better while weakening the tendon. I never understood that treatment.

[payitforward]

Washington traded for Denver's damaged-goods.... Denver, Minnesota, and New Orleans, wake-up each day thankful that Ernie Grunfeld is an NBA General Manager.

I worry that Nene's troubles will help Ernie keep his job -- rather than costing him his job as the trade should (along w/ so much else over so long a period).

He'll be saying that he didn't have his guys and that if the team had been healthy "we'd be able to compete with anybody."

As long as the franchise is making money, fans are filling the stadium, and the like, I can see him buying Ernie's line of BS.

[hands11]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_fasciitis#section_2

Damaged goods is a perfect way to describe him. Sounds essentially like micro-tears in the foot tendons. That comes from overuse, and eventually rip.

I've had a similar problem in my arm from weightlifting, and at one point ripped a tendon in my bicep. Had surgery and 6 weeks later I was lifting light weights, 3 months later was back to 95%, 6 months 100%. The surgery was risky due to nerve damage, but I came out fine.

Unless Nene has surgery, which would likely keep him out a year....he'll likely be damaged for his career. Funny enough, if he is getting cortisone injections it's just making him feel better while weakening the tendon. I never understood that treatment.

Sounds like he only got one shot but who knows. This is the first real information we have learned about what is really going on with him. Him participating in the Olympics was negligent.

They obviously know there was something going on with the foot because he missed some games before the trade and that was reported. But when did he know about the ligament ? Did he have an MRI before ? Did the Wizard make him have one when they evaluated him ?

None of us know if he will eventually require surgery or not. But given the experts he is now seeing and the current course for recovery, it seems they think it will heal with rest and treatment. Rest and treatment that could have equaled a full 6 months if he didn't play in the Olympics. Or the 6 months you say it would have taken if he had surgery at the end of the season.

Playing the the Olympics was a selfish move by Nene. Now he is trying to accumulate that full recovery time with the season ticking away and his team losing because they need him out there. What he did was all about Nene while he hosed the organizations, players and fans that purchased tickets.

That is not the veteran leadership we were looking for.

Major black eye for Nene. So far it looks like if he just made the Wizards his priority, he would have been ready to start the season just like Booker was.

This is not how you get off on the right foot with your new organization. ( weak attempt at humor )

[Zonkerbl]

I TOLD YOU SO

[Induveca]

If it's a chronic as it seems, it will require surgery eventually. Or it will rip and he'll have an Ilgauskas like issue.

http://www.getprolo.com/why_ligaments_d ... ir_own.htm

Ligaments don't really heal on their own, not sure what "rest' is going to do beyond him learning to cope with the pain. Ligaments have almost zero access to blood flow, they're pretty much like rubber bands holding bones together. Unfortunately I can certainly see how running with 260 pounds banging on the damaged ligament can cause issues if there is a partial tear.

I don't expect to see him play more than 30 games this year, if that. If he does, he's just collecting a paycheck right now. Basically from what i"m seeing, his ligament is close to a complete tear.

[padovani31]

It was not a selfish move Nene played the Olimpics. The guy was always massacreted by 200 million people because he do not care about Brazil team.

If he could not play, it was simple like Wizards medical staff send a communication to Brazili federation that he had problems and need to rest. I bet that brazilian fans would be angry if he did this move.

It is a more complex sittuation than asked him do not play in the summer.

[Dat2U]

If it's a chronic as it seems, it will require surgery eventually. Or it will rip and he'll have an Ilgauskas like issue.

http://www.getprolo.com/why_ligaments_d ... ir_own.htm

Ligaments don't really heal on their own, not sure what "rest' is going to do beyond him learning to cope with the pain. Ligaments have almost zero access to blood flow, they're pretty much like rubber bands holding bones together. Unfortunately I can certainly see how running with 260 pounds banging on the damaged ligament can cause issues if there is a partial tear.

I don't expect to see him play more than 30 games this year, if that. If he does, he's just collecting a paycheck right now. Basically from what i"m seeing, his ligament is close to a complete tear.

Yep, this is key part of it for me:

“They have no clue,” Nene said, adding that he actually tore a ligament in the bottom of his foot and that another is irritated and causing more problems. “They think it's simple pain.”

He's just delaying the inevitable surgery at this point. We definitely got damaged goods. Denver recognized they had made a huge mistake in free agency, and quickly made a move to a willing sucker. They had no problem admitting a mistake and rectifying it immediately. Regardless of what people think of McGee, we just got stuck a 31 yr old big man in chronic pain, trying to rest an injury that can't really be helped by rest at this stage.

This is like Mark Price all over again, but instead of losing the opportunity to draft Kobe the next season, we've got 4 years of future dead weight on our cap thanks to the foresight of Mr. Grunfeld. Between this debacle, the OkafaRIZA trade, drafting the "Euro Blake Griffin" and the Blatche extension I think we have enough evidence to judge Ernie based off what he's solely done under Teddy Leonsis.

[closg00]

A trip down memory lane if you have the stomach for it.
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