2011 NBA Free Agent Signings: Denver Nuggets Re-Sign Top Priority Arron Afflalo

It took a long while, but finally the Denver Nuggets achieved what they set out to do this offseason.

Late Monday night, ESPN's Marc Stein reported that they came to terms with restricted free agent Arron Afflalo on a five-year contract worth $43 million.

It turned out to be a positive offseason for the Nuggets, who had already found a way to re-sign Nene, who turned out to be the top free agent on the market.

Now they come to terms with shooting guard Afflalo, which was their main goal coming into the season.

He's a young up-and-coming 2-guard who can shoot the three and is very good defensively. There was a ton of interest in Afflalo early on, including contenders like the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers wanting to acquire him through a sign-and-trade, but the Nuggets felt all along that they could retain the young Afflalo.

After not being able to keep Carmelo Anthony in a Nuggets uniform a year ago, Denver was able to commit over $100 million to keep both Nene and Afflalo in the fold for the next five years.

With some of their free agents; including Wilson Chandler, Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith stuck in China, it made the Nuggets decision easy on Afflalo.

Add to that the fact that Denver acquired both Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer from the Dallas Mavericks and the offseason has turned into a positive one for the Nuggets.

None of that would be possible without Afflalo though.