Arron Afflalo to Denver Nuggets: Breaking Down the 2011 NBA Free Agent Signing

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Arron Afflalo was a long shot to ever leave the Denver Nuggets, and now he's decided to return to the team that gave him a shot to be an impact player.

The breakout shooting guard was a restricted free agent heading into the offseason, and he emerged as more than $40 million richer.

Afflalo agreed to a five-year, $43 million contract to stay with the Nuggets, and it's a very reasonable deal considering the market established for players at his position this offseason.

ESPN.com reported earlier this month that the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers were among the playoff teams trying unsuccessfully to engage the Nuggets in sign-and-trade discussions.

Clearly, Afflalo was drawing the interest of some other competitive teams around the league, and it's not surprising considering what he brings to the table.

He assumed somewhat of a leadership role for the Nuggets last season after the team traded away Carmelo Anthony, and he's an excellent guy to have in the locker room for a team that could surprise a lot of people this season.

The Nuggets have done a really excellent job of finding a way to retain both Afflalo and Nene when both were very highly coveted targets for a number of other teams, and the Nuggets now have some solid depth on the roster.

Afflalo should play 30-plus minutes nightly for the Nuggets, as the team will need his contributions on both ends of the court regularly.

He's going to be a major part of what the team does both now and well into the future.

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