NBA Free Agents: Expect Overzealous Squad to Overpay Nene

One thing is clear at this point in what’s about to be the biggest NBA free agent frenzy ever: Nene is not re-signing with the Denver Nuggets.

He has spent his entire nine-year career in light blue and has been one of the more consistent forwards in the NBA over that time frame.

With one year remaining on his deal, he quietly opted out just before the lockout began and is now using rhetoric like this to make himself sound like some sort of victim:

"

I learned last season that this was a business. No matter how nice you are to people, no matter how nice people are to you, this is a business. I did my best for the team and they waited and waited to extend me. I was like, ‘Oh, OK, all these years playing good, doing your best and they still test you.’ That’s not about family, love and somebody liking you. It’s a business

"

Translation: I want as much money as I possibly can get.

He is looking for a mega-deal and there surely is a dumb GM out there willing to give it to him. The Nuggets would be smart to let him go at this point. For as great a player he can be in the regular season, he finds a way to choke in the playoffs.

Shoot, he disappears in the fourth quarter of regular-season games too.

He averages 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds in the regular season and 10.8 and 6.6 in the playoffs.  Considering he’s played in 44 playoff games in his career, this is not a coincidence at this point.

He is the opposite of clutch and is a big reason why the Nuggets were only able to get out of the first round once in his tenure with the team.

Nene is better off going to a team like the Golden State Warriors that can provide him with plenty of shots with no pressure because let’s face it: You aren’t going to win a championship with Nene.

He doesn’t do the little things well and gets pushed around when the intensity heats up and the physicality gets ratcheted up a notch.

Other teams reportedly interested in the Brazilian's services include: New Jersey, Indiana, Miami, Dallas and Houston.

Obviously, there are enough teams in this league that look at the stat line and make their judgments without much emphasis on the things that don’t show up on the stat sheet.

Expect a team like the Warriors or the Nets to throw a ridiculously large contract his way and watch him jog up-and-down the court in 2014 50 pounds overweight.

I’d stay far away from Nene in free agency.