Nene To Meet With Rockets
Nene will have many suitors over the next few days and the Houston Rockets will be the first team in line to meet with him.
Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen tweeted late Sunday that Nene and the Rockets will meet on Monday.
"Rockets GM Daryl Morey and coach Kevin McHale to meet with Nene Monday, 2 persons w knowledge of meeting said. Nene is their top C target."
It’s highly unlikely that the Rockets will offer Nene the type of deal he wants. They don’t have the money to pay Nene the max and they are highly unlikely to offer him anything close to the max. And in order for Nene to get a five-year deal instead of a 4-year deal a sign-and-trade would have to be worked out with the Nuggets.
The Rockets do have some assets that may interest the Nuggets. Among them are young players like Patrick Patterson, Courtney Lee, Jordan Hill and Terrence Williams.
The New Jersey Nets are also expected to meet with Nene and could offer him the most money, which is the most likely situation in the Nene sweepstakes. The Indiana Pacers are also planning to talk to Nene.
The only real chance for Nene to return to Denver is if he is willing to sign a contract ranging around $10 million a season for five years. That fifth year is the only advantage the Nuggets have over the other teams, but they can also offer Nene a chance to play power forward, which is his natural position.
BULLS TALKING SIGN-AND-TRADE FOR AFFLALO
Arron Afflalo to the Chicago Bulls just seems like a perfect situation. But what is standing in the way is the Nuggets, who will most likely match any offer for Afflalo.
According to Alex Kennedy, the Bulls are trying to talk the Nuggets into a sign-and-trade, which will be built around Ronnie Brewer. At the end of the day, Afflalo will most likely return to Denver, especially since the Bulls will most likely be able to land Caron Butler or Jamal Crawford.
But if the Bulls interest for Afflalo is real and Chicago is willing to build an offer built around Brewer, Taj Gibson and the rights to the Bobcats first round pick (from the Tyrus Thomas trade), it would be tough for the Nuggets to turn it down.