Houston Rockets center Nene (42) takes a shot at the basket against the Denver Nuggets during the first half of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Thursday, March 28, 2019, in Houston.
The NBA on Thursday ruled that the bonus portions of Rockets center Nene's contract cannot be used in cap calculations in a trade, negating the potential trade benefits the Rockets expected to have from the way the deal was structured.
The Athletic initially reported the league ruling.
Though the $2.56 million in base salary in each of the next two seasons remains in place and would count if Nene is traded, the roughly $7.