Nene said Monday he is strongly considering opting out of the final season of his six-year, $60 million contract, which would pay him $12 million, and testing the free-agent market.

After nine seasons in the NBA, Nene has full control of his future and it could take hard work for the Nuggets to make him happy enough to return.

"I've been here for nine years," said Nene, 28. "If that doesn't work how you want it, you need to sit down and evaluate everything and see what you can do."
The overarching issues in this situation are his level of happiness with the Nuggets and, ultimately, his value on the open market.

Players similar to him — Utah's Al Jefferson, Chicago's Carlos Boozer and Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge — will make $11 million to $14 million next season.