Nene ESPN 2006-07 Evaluation and 2007-08 Outlook

Here is the Hollinger ESPN 2006-07 evaluation and 2007-08 outlook of Nene. Nuggets 1 will make a few observations within hours.

Nene

2006-07 season: The Nuggets were ridiculed for signing Nene to a six-year, $60 million deal before the season began, but got the last laugh when the Brazilian big man stormed back from knee surgery to have what his easily his best season as a pro.

He hit a career-best 57 percent from the field, and shot selection played a big role in his success. Nene took 92.8 percent of his shots in the immediate basket area, which is important because he's terrible once he gets a few feet away -- he only made 25 percent of his non-layups, which was the worst mark in captivity (If you're wondering, he just missed the 100-attempt threshold for the chart in the Fred Jones comment). But he attempted half as many shots from that range as he'd done two years earlier, forcing his shooting percentage upward.

That wasn't the only change, though. Players don't normally come back from knee surgery as improved rebounders, but Nene set a career-high in rebound rate. Perhaps that's because he appeared much bigger physically; clearly he spent some of his down time in the weight room. His numbers improved as the year went on, as he got in better shape and regained his instincts. After the All-Star break he shot 64 percent.

Scouting report: Nene is one of the quickest big men in basketball, which allows him to beat opposing big men in transition or on drives and get in position for dunks. He uses that quickness on the defensive end to annually have one of the best rates of steals among centers -- last year he was seventh -- and help his guards out in pick-and-roll situations.

Nene isn't as sharp in help situations from the weak side, and he's not much of a leaper so his blocked shot totals are ordinary. But he's really improved as a post defender, giving Tim Duncan fits during the first-round playoff series with his size and a newfound physicality.

Offensively he still needs to refine his post game and develop a go-to move; right now he really struggles if he has to shoot more than a few feet from the basket. His jumper is mediocre at best and could also use some work.

2007-08 outlook: Although he's been around a while, Nene is only 25 and should just be entering his peak years. He may not be able to match last season's sizzling shooting percentage, but his other numbers should continue to gently improve, and the overall effect should be a season of similar quality to last year's.

However, there's also a chance he'll exceed that by a substantial margin -- usually a player's second year back from knee surgery is far better than his first, and Nene's numbers after the break last year tend to support that. If the knee effect outweighs the shooting percentage effect, the Anthony-Nene-Camby frontcourt could be one of the two or three best in basketball.

Most similar at age: Brian Williams