June 30th, 2011 
Russ Loede 
Posted in 
Nene Dunking At Will
Nene has decided to get out of the final year of his contract worth nearly $12 million, and now will become an unrestricted free agent.
Ready to hit the open market and test the free agency waters, the promising big man will be a hot commodity for teams looking for a center this off-season.
Nene has the ability now, to ink a deal with any club he desires, without the Nuggets receiving an opportunity to match the offer.
Vying to retains his services for the long-term, the Nuggets tried to sign him to a contract extension, yet to no avail, Nene opted out of the final year of the six-year, $60 million deal that he signed in 2006.
“I’ve been here for nine years,” Nene, 28, said in early May. “If that doesn’t work how you want it, you need to sit down and evaluate everything and see what you can do.”
It looks like Nene has intentions of playing in a bigger city, after seeing his former teammate Melo leave for the Big Apple.
Nene led the NBA in shooting this past regular season, at 61.5 % from the field. He collected 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. The Brazilian big guy also averaged at least two assists, one steal, and one block per for the second consecutive campaign.
“Nene is a player that we want to have here for a long time,” Nuggets executive Josh Kroenke said. “He’s been a backbone of ours for the last several years, and he’s a big part of our future.”
Now all is left to see, is whether teams believe Nene is as big a part of their future like the Nuggets believe he is to theirs.
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