NeneC | Rockets

Rockets dealt a blow in Nene contract rulingSeptember 19, 2019 | 04:06 PM

The NBA and the Players' Association have ruled that Nene's contract with the Rockets will exclude more than $7 million in annual "likely" bonuses if he's traded. Houston was very creative in their deal with Nene, but this final ruling puts them in a tight spot -- as capologist Albert Nahmad wrote, the Rockets "now essentially have a fully guaranteed $2.6M salary, for a player they can't play more than [nine] regular-season games without risking triggering another $2.4M in bonuses." The intention seemed to be using him as a trade chip, but now he's likely just an end-of-bench center on a roster that already includes Clint Capela and Tyson Chandler.