NBA Free Agent Predictions: Potential Landing Spots for Nene and More Top FAs

The NBA lockout is seemingly nearing a merciful conclusion, so it's time to start looking ahead to a shortened season. This year's crop of free agents won't have much time to make decisions with the campaign tentatively scheduled to start on Christmas Day.

Here are three top free agents and their potential destinations over the next month.

Nene

Nene has spent his entire career with the Denver Nuggets and the team has enough cap room to bring him back. But with so many teams in need of a center, the veteran will have no shortage of suitors once he enters the open market.

He averaged 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds last season to go along with his usual steady play on the defensive end. While staying in Denver seems to be the prevailing thought, teaming up with Luis Scola in Houston is another intriguing possibility.

Early Prediction: Houston Rockets

Tyson Chandler

Chandler is coming off the best season of his career, which is an optimal time to become a free agent. He averaged more than 10 PPG for just the second time and was a rock in the middle of the Mavericks defense during their playoff run.

As with Nene, it helps that a boatload of teams are looking for big men. However, it's hard to imagine a team fitting Chandler's ability more than Dallas. He isn't expected to do much offensively beyond a couple dunks and without him their depth up front would be lacking.

Early Prediction: Dallas Mavericks

Jason Richardson

Richardson never found his comfort zone with Orlando, scoring less than 14 points per game while shooting 38 percent from beyond the arc after being traded to the Magic. He still has a ton of talent and should benefit from new surroundings.

He's shown good durability over the past three seasons, so age isn't a concern. Richardson might not reach the 20-PPG plateau again, but 16 or 17 points with five rebounds is reasonable. He'd be a nice fit for the Nuggets, who have a lot of cap room to work with and need a pure scorer.

Early Prediction: Denver Nuggets