Welcome to Boston, Neemias Queta! – Converted to NBA Contract (Apr 8, 2024)

[zoyathedestroya]

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[Almeida]

HELL YES!

So happy about this!

[ConstableGeneva]

First Portuguese NBA player ever?

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Neemias (Nehemias) in Hebrew means "comforted by God". Queta in Portuguese means "fall". This acquisition is very apt for me as a Celtics fan.

[Almeida]

First Portuguese NBA player ever?

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Yeah, he is. Might have another one coming next year, we’ll see (Ruben Prey).

[Hal14]

I like it.

1) Here's a post I made in the trade thread the other day about him:

Spoiler:

Let's look at some Queta film, shall we?

First, how about we look at the one and only game last season where he actually got to play more than 5 mins?

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2:45 contests the shot out on the perimeter, forces the miss. Then leaks out for the easy dunk in transition
2:50 gets his hand WAY above the rim on this lob finish
7:17 another solid lob finish
7:32 not the best PnR defense here. But it's just 1 play and this is like the only game Queta got in pretty much all season so it's understandable if there's a mistake

How about a couple of summer league games from this year?

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1:04 nice block at the rim
3:20 gets his hand way above the rim on this block
3:44 nice defense here to force the guy to miss at the rim
4:20 nice put-back, showing some good hustle/tenacity along with his size inside
4:38 really nice pass here to the cutter
5:14 gets the ball in the low block, 1 dribble, drop step, turns and powers it in over the defender. Nothing wrong with a center with legit size who has some post moves and finishing ability. We'd like to see stuff like this from Time Lord
7:13 gets the ball on the short roll, and shows some nice touch by hitting the floater in the lane
7:30 again, soft touch here on the shot in the lane
8:20 good rim protection here. Quinones goes up strong at the rim, but Queta with a nice job of challenging the shot and forcing him to miss, without fouling

How about one more summer League game:

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3:03 nice tip-in, showing some activity on the offensive boards
4:15 love this play. Faces up from around the FT line. Makes a strong move to the rim off the dribble and shows some nice agility by finishing on the opposite side of the basket, using the basket to shield off the defender, laying it in with his left hand. Imagine if we saw Time Lord make a play like this?
4:20 nice seal down low, then able to lay it in to take advantage of the size mismatch
7:09 nice block
7:16 gets the ball in the short roll. Up fake to fake out his defender, then 1 dribble and throws down the dunk. Nice. We'd love to see plays like this from Time Lord

Lastly, a bunch of rim protection highlights:

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The guy is 7'0" and about 248 lbs. Just 24 yrs old so still getting better, still developing but he's developed enough that he could possibly contribute for us off the bench.

He is eligible for a 2-way so we could put him on a 2-way or possibly give him the 15th roster spot..

2) Even better, this is a rare time that Steefp2 and I see eye to eye

I am pro Queta. Still leaning slightly towards biyombo for last big spot but if you think kornet is good as a solid third stringer we’re probably better off with Nemias. If either is playing in the playoffs we’re either in trouble or running through opponents so at least with Queta there’s a 1% chance he could be someone in the future

There's no doubt in my mind someone in the Celtics front office saw that both of us were pro-Queta and they said "holy moly, we've gotta sign this guy!"

3) This is kind of like the Kabengele pickup last year. In both cases, we picked up a guy who was 24 or 25, a big man who had proven pretty much nothing in the NBA but had multiple seasons under his belt as one of the top bigs in the g league.

Difference is, Queta is a year younger when we picked him up than Kabengele was when he picked up - which is definitely something in Queta's favor cause it means Queta has more upside and if you're a guy who is 24 or older and still hasn't proven much at all in the NBA, it's definitely better if you're a year younger than the other guy.

Also, Queta has shown better passing feel/IQ than Kabengele. And Queta is bigger (7'0" instead of 6'10").

Kabengele's only advantage is that he has shown more ability to shoot from 3 than Queta.

But I think the biggest difference is the IQ. Kabengele had the size, motor, athleticism, flashes of shooting. Made some highlight plays in summer league. But I think he just didn't really have the combination of offensive IQ / defensive IQ / passing feel, court awareness and confidence to make it in the NBA. Queta it appears is better at this stuff - so he has a chance.

4) Give Queta a year of development in a winning culture, going against Rob, Al and KP in practice and learning from them. He could certainly develop into a really solid backup big man.

5) I do find it interesting that this news broke literally the next day after Garuba signed a 2-way with the warriors. Perhaps the warriors were looking at both of them but decided to sign Garuba. Then when we couldn't sign Garuba, we jumped on Queta as a backup plan before some other team scooped him up.

Or perhaps the celtics were interested in both of them but we said no thanks to Garuba so that's when he signed with the warriors and then today the news is announced that we sign Queta because we liked him better? Idk..

Perhaps they both ended up with the right team. Afterall, before the draft, Garuba got compared to Draymond a lot - so now he can learn from him. And Queta is definitely similar to Rob with the combination of size + rim protection + lob finishing ability + passing. So now Queta can learn from Rob..

6) We have definitely brought in some international flavor this offseason:
Queta - Portugal
Porzingis - Latvia
Svi - Ukraine
Brissett - Canada
Banton - Canada

[MeanGeraldGreen]

Oh god.

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[Parliament10]

Neemias Esdras Barbosa Queta
Ht -: 7'0"
Wt -: 250 lbs
Age: 24 yrs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neemias_Queta

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[bigfoot_cryptozoology]

On a Two-Way deal too,
looks like they are keeping that 15th Spot open for awhile...

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[GoCeltics123]

I think he's going to end up getting the 15th spot

[Parliament10]

On a Two-Way deal too,
looks like they are keeping that 15th Spot open for awhile...

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Nice. 7-footer, too.
Played in the G league Last 2 Seasons. Not too shabby.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neemias_Queta

All-NBA G League First Team (2023)
NBA G League All-Defensive Team (2023)
NBA G League Next Up Game (2023)

[Parliament10]

I think he's going to end up getting the 15th spot

Could be. -- Great Injury Insurance, in any case.

[Parliament10]

HELL YES!

So happy about this!

You seen him play?
Any insights?

[canman1971]

First Portuguese NBA player ever?

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Neemias (Nehemias) in Hebrew means "comforted by God". Queta in Portuguese means "fall". This acquisition is very apt for me as a Celtics fan.

Bring on the sweet bread, clam boil, chourico, meat pies

[Shak_Celts]

I don’t like him! You hear that universe?! I DON’T LIKE HIM!!

Spoiler:

*Fingers crossed*

[Smart2Nesmith43]

Queta measured 7'0.25'' tall with a 9'3.5'' standing reach and a 7'4.25'' wingspan and weighed in at 226lbs at the 2019 combine. He measured 7'0.5'' tall with a 9'4.5'' standing reach and a 7'4'' wingspan and weighed in at 248lbs at the 2021 combine. So he certainly has the size to play center in the NBA, now let's see if he has the skill.

[snowman]

FINALLY, some more big man insurance. I absolutely love this signing. Let him get more experience in G League, but get called up whenever Horford, Porzingis or Rob needs a night off for rest. Any two of our three regular big men along with Kornet and Queta can certainly hold the fort. This also gives us the inside banger we need against the bigger 5's in the league.

[Dogen]

Nice! We got one of the young bigs available. I'm happy we have him rather than Dwight H for sure.

He's going to be fun

[ConstableGeneva]

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[playa-hater]

Queta measured 7'0.25'' tall with a 9'3.5'' standing reach and a 7'4.25'' wingspan and weighed in at 226lbs at the 2019 combine. He measured 7'0.5'' tall with a 9'4.5'' standing reach and a 7'4'' wingspan and weighed in at 248lbs at the 2021 combine. So he certainly has the size to play center in the NBA, now let's see if he has the skill.

I wanted some young "live big-body' Bigman in camp, mission accomplished. And unlike Kabin-jelly who I had hope for last season, Queta has legit NBA size. I have no idea what skill he may or may not have, but zero harm in trying to develop a young Big.

[playa-hater]

I don’t like him! You hear that universe?! I DON’T LIKE HIM!!

Spoiler:

*Fingers crossed*

I literally don't know what qualifies for a jinx or a reverse jinx anymore..