NBA free agency this year is going to be quite the spectacle as teams around the league scramble to pick up talent on a shortened schedule, not to mention the list of talented players available as well. One player that sits around the top of most teams free agent wish list's is Denver Nuggets center Nene, and one team he could possibly land is the Golden State Warriors.
Nene, 29, made $11.3 million during the final year of his contract, and was looking for an extension last season, but nicely kept quiet as the team dealt with the Carmelo Anthony fiasco. The team shipped Anthony to the Knicks in February, when Nene expected the Nuggets to turn their attention to locking him up. Denver decided to wait until right before the beginning of the lockout on July 1 to propose a four-year, $50 million deal, leaving Nene feeling disrespected for them waiting so long. He has now decided to test free agency, with the Warriors as a possible landing spot for him.
"I learned last season that this was a business," Nene told Yahoo! Sports. "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.
Along with the Warriors, the New Jersey Nets, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers are the teams likely to have interest, and Nene will likely want to go to a contender. With all of the re-tooling that took place in the W's front office this offseason and possibly the addition of some more talent (and possibly dropping some with the new amnesty clause) could tip the scales is Golden State's favor for landing the Brazilian big man.
For more on the Warriors, head over to Golden State of Mind.