Will Nenê Leave Denver in Order to Pursue a Championship?
Maybyner R. Hilario, or legally known as Nenê of the Denver Nuggets, is currently an unrestricted free agent. Nenê was drafted by the New York Knicks in '02 with the ninth overall pick, but was traded to the Denver Nuggets almost immediately.
After spending the past nine seasons in Denver, Nenê has been through a lot in his career. He has dealt with injuries such as a torn ACL, a cancer scare amongst others that caused him to miss a good portion of games. However, he has made consecutive playoff appearances and got close to making it to the NBA Finals before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers a few years ago. He is one of the biggest names on the 2011 free agent market.
As an unrestricted free agent, Nenê can control whether he re-signs in Denver, or signs elsewhere in hopes to have a better opportunity to win a championship. The Nuggets traded away Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks at the February trade deadline and are in the midst of rebuilding. However, due to the lockout, and the uncertainty of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), Wilson Chandler (a restricted free agent) and J.R. Smith (an unrestricted free agent) have signed to play with a Chinese team, and would not be eligible to sign with an NBA team until as early as March 2012.
With all of the uncertainty in the air, will Nenê sign with other teams that are looking for big men such as the Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks, and the Philadelphia 76ers? The Golden State Warriors were interested in trying to acquire him around that trade deadline, but the Nuggets did not want to make too many changes at that time. Some of these teams mentioned may be able to offer the Brazilian big man more money, but it is too early to tell what Nenê is going to do at this time.
When asked about free agency during the NBA season, Nenê said that it was not going to be all about money, and that he is going to make a decision that is best for his family and himself. He has mentioned on more than one occasion that Denver remains his top choice, but several teams will be looking to acquire his services whenever the lockout is resolved.
