The NBA rejected a contract with Nene submitted by the Houston Rockets that it deemed a circumvention of the salary cap.

Nene's deal had bonuses worth more than $7 million that were considered likely for cap purposes, but would have been unlikely to actually convey. Houston structured the deal in order to turn Nene's contract into a trade chip.

Bobby Marks discussed the contract recently and indicated how it is routine for front offices to send the draft of a contract to the NBA before it is finalized and signed in order to make sure it will be approved. The Rockets did not do that in the case of Nene.

"Houston never sent the Nene contract for approval (in advance)," said Marks on The Hoop Collective podcast. "They basically did it, had the guy signed it and then sent it to the league for approval. That's when it went into a holding pattern for about two weeks."