The Nuggets should have the inside track to re-sign Nene.

The team can pay him more money than any other team and his wife is a native of the state, leading him to plan on making Colorado his permanent home when he retries.

But it may not be enough to entice him to stay with the team.

“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.

“So how do I think about [free agency]? I want to be happy. I want to improve my game. I want to enjoy it. It was very stressful for me and I don’t want to go through this in my career anymore.”

Nene made $11.3 million in the final season of his contract.

Nene expected an extension offer from the Nuggets, but waited until just before the lockout to propose a four-year, $50 million deal, say sources.

Nene says he likely would have accepted the offer had it come during the season.

“When the season was over they didn’t offer me nothing good,” said Nene. “It’s hard. When my option came, it was good for my side and I to seize the opportunity of free agency. I tried to make a deal before that. Yes, I would have signed before the end of the season. But after the season was done, after going into the summer and waiting a little more in the summer, they ask me to sign?

“There was so much pressure on my shoulders. It was hard for me and I still did my job.”

Asked about his relationship with the franchise now, he said: “I like the organization. I do need to be professional just like they were with me. They did what was best for them, and now I need to do what is best for me.”