There are a lot of questions and concerns about Nene and what he may be dealing with that has caused him to take an indefinite leave of absence. I do not want to fuel any hysteria or sensationalize this, but after listening to some quotes from George Karl after the game last night regarding Nene it sounds like a very serious issue.
The question was not aired, I am guessing it was something along the lines of how can you help Nene get through this, but here is Karl’s response:
"Sometimes talking about your experiences sometimes sharing some laughter it comes in different packages. Hopefully, I will have some opportunity to sit down and spend some time with him and talk about this stuff."
"It was very, I remember when I had my surgery. It was incredible the support I felt from the organization and then also from the fans of Denver, of emails and stuff like that. The way we can feel similar spirits and similar strengths cause when you get confronted with a health situation you get scared."
"There’s no way, I went months waking up scared. At times now when I wake up and there’s a tweak or a twinge in my kidney or my back somewhere, I still think it is cancer I do not think I’ve got a bad back I think I have cancer. You have a lot of interesting days."
The next question was if he believed Nene had a chance of returning this season or if that was just personal optimism by Nene.
He responded with, "His health, his future, his life is much more important than basketball." He went on to say that they can all take basketball too seriously and times like this can help them regain their perspective.
I do not want to speculate what Nene is facing, but for Karl to compare their situations is quite frightening.
