Denver's injured power forward/center will be a restricted free agent this summer and a target for any team with salary-cap space, with Chicago and Atlanta already known to be interested. But the Raptors just added themselves to the short list of clubs that might be able to put forth an offer that the Nuggets deem too rich to match or (more likely) forces Denver into a sign-and-trade & especially if Embry can follow through on his efforts to move swingman Eric Williams before the Feb. 23 trading deadline. Something else you should know: Nene has some little-known Canadian ties. His original NBA interpreter and personal manager, Joe Santos, was born and raised just outside of Toronto, which might actually give the Raptors a bit of a free-agent edge for once. Even if Nene can't be lured north of the border out of Denver, having significant cap space is vital as the Raptors try to start over around Bosh. They need to make a splashy acquisition or two to convince Bosh that he would be wise to sign a long-term extension before next season, and cap room makes the Raps a contender for not only Nene -- whom doctors expect to recover fully from his Opening Night knee tear -- but perhaps sharpshooting free agent-to-be Peja Stojakovic, a move that would be well-received by Toronto's expansive Serbian community as well. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stor...marc&id=2318118
