Washington Wizards: Wizards Make a Great Move in Acquiring Veteran Center Nene

One team that decided to make a move that could be labeled as “questionable” before the trade deadline passed were the Washington Wizards. A team marred with immaturity and other issues throughout a good portion of the NBA season, are definitely looking towards the future.

The good news is that the Wizards may have finally made some progress in the right direction and in the process of doing so were able to swap youth for a much-needed veteran presence on the floor.  

The Wizards acquired Nene from the Denver Nuggets, along with Brian Cook in a three-team trade just before the deadline last Thursday afternoon. The Wizards finally decided that it was better to unload centers JaVale McGee (restricted free agent) and Ronny Turiaf (for salary purposes) to Denver, and sent guard/forward Nick Young (unrestricted free agent) to the Los Angeles Clippers.

At first glance one may ask why would the Wizards acquire Nene who is in the first year of a five-year contract worth close to $67 million?

It was not too long ago that Nene was a free agent before the Nuggets re-signed him in December.

Well the downside on Nene is that he is earning big money although various injuries have caused him to miss games over his career. However, the advantages of bringing in Nene are much greater for the young Wizards at this time.

First off, Nene is a legit NBA center in terms of size and strength. Additionally, he is a seasoned veteran who can be a great compliment alongside Wall, as well as Kevin Seraphin, Jordan Crawford and Trevor Booker (who looks to be a keeper).

This could very well be the first step for the rebuilding Wizards. The team can look to add more pieces to their team during the summer, and with an up-and-coming point guard and a legit NBA center, free agents could possibly be attracted to moving to the nation’s capital.

It will be interesting to see what the Wizards do during the offseason. Hopefully, they are able to bring in decent talent to place around Wall and Nene.