The New Jersey Nets have signed free agent forward Eduardo Najera, who's hardly a star, but is the NBA's only player from Mexico. He's one of the four players bannered on the NBA's Spanish-language site (above; click to enlarge) and is deemed by MSNBC to be the league's tenth most marketable player.Comments on Al Iannazzone's In the 'Zzone blog (for the Record) range from praise for Najera as a hustle player the Nets need to the observation that he sure can help with marketing.
The Nets also just acquired Yi Jianlian, who notches #9 on MSNBC's list, though he, like Najera, is not a star like the other eight on the list.
Was the decision to acquire Najera "100% about basketball"? You don't have to answer that question, because sports entertainment corporations are about both basketball and business. If Israeli hoopster Lior Eliyahu improves, maybe the Nets will go for him, hoping to attract another demographic.
This post is just ridiculous. You can't try and associate everything the nets do to some elaborate marketing scheme. Yi Jilian, maybe. They traded their second best player to get him, despite the fact that he has yet to prove he can compete consistently in the NBA. In the case of Najera, his previous team, the Denver Nuggets, are over the salary cap and simply could not afford to re-sign him. He is a tremendous hustler, especially on the defensive end, and there is no team in the league that wouldn't want him - and it has nothing to do with the fact that he is the only Mexican in the NBA.
ReplyDeleteI must admit that this is a serious reach, and I'm a regular to this site, and I practically live on the Atlantic Yards site.
Not ridiculous, but... I could've made the point better. Sure, Najera's a legitimate choice for basketball reasons.
ReplyDeleteBut it is curious that only two of the top ten most marketable players aren't real stars, and the Nets have them both.
everybody will be singing a different tune as soon as they see Eduardo Najera with his hard hat on.! This tough Mexican shows up to every game with the mentality to get the job done, even if it means to sacrifice his body and the spotlight by doing all the dirty work that most of the "superstars" cannot handle. We all see skyscrapers as a thing of beauty. But nobody ever stops to think that the only reason it exists, is due to the fact that hard hat wearing Mexicans were the ones that did all the dirty work.!
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely ridiculous. The Nets are an extremely young team, especially in the front court. Najera is a solid veteran contributor. This move was about basketball and nothing else. You're reaching with your conclusion.
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