Jan 6, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards center Nene (42) dribbles the ball as Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) defends in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Cavaliers won 121-115. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Washington Wizards Need To Trade Nene As Soon As Possible

The Washington Wizards have played 35 games this season. Nene, who’s supposed to be a key contributor, has only been active in 14 of those contests.

Coming into the season, we all knew that Nene would inevitably miss a large chunk of games. The 33-year-old Brazilian big man has missed approximately 22 games in each of the last three seasons. Still, when Nene is healthy, he’s undoubtedly one of Washington’s best players.

Nene is capable of playing both the four and five spot, making him a valuable part of Randy Wittman‘s rotation.

More importantly, Nene was supposed to provide stability to a second unit that lacked a go-to player. Now that Washington is playing small-ball, Nene could’ve been the primary option off the bench.

Unfortunately, the Washington Wizards haven’t been able to rely on the oft-injured big man this season at all.

Nene missed over a month of action with a strained calf — an injury that typically doesn’t require that much time to heal. Given his history with foot and leg injuries, though, it’s understandable. Washington wants to have Nene healthy for the NBA Playoffs, right? After all, that’s the most important thing.

The problem is, the playoffs aren’t guaranteed.

Washington doesn’t have many big men on their roster. Drew Gooden is one of the worst defensive players in the league, DeJuan Blair is incapable of doing anything productive and Kris Humphries is out with injury as well.

The Wizards don’t have the time to wait on Nene to get healthy.

After he returned from a strained calf, Nene went on to play two games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors before missing another game against the Orlando Magic on Saturday night. This time, Nene missed a game with strained triceps.

That’s right: Nene decided to miss another game for one of the most vague injuries I’ve ever heard of. Did Nene brace his fall with his triceps in practice? How the hell does someone strain their triceps to the point of missing games in the NBA — something they’re paid millions of dollars to do?

Nene has been completely unreliable and Saturday’s absence should be the last straw.

Washington can’t wait on Nene, especially since he doesn’t seem to want to play.

We all know those kids who grew up tall and were forced to play basketball, even though they hated the sport.

Nene has become that kid.

He’s not Marcin Gortat, who’s missed just one game in two seasons with the Washington Wizards.

He’s unwilling to play through injuries that players fight through all the time, and that’s a huge problem for a team that’s battling to stay in the playoff race.

While Gortat and John Wall have played through a list of injuries, Nene and others remain sidelined. Nene, more than anyone else on the roster, has built a reputation of taking his time recovering. He’s reluctant to fight through pain and doesn’t make sacrifices.

There’s a reason why Masai Ujiri shipped Nene to Washington for JaVale McGee almost immediately after signing him to a contract extension. Nene has All-Star talent, but he doesn’t have the heart nor desire to utilize it. George Karl was notorious for wanting more out of Nene, but he obviously never got that. Nene remained complacent and unreliable, just like he’s been in the nation’s capital.

Nene is in the final year of his guaranteed contract and $13 million will be off the books after this season. Even though expiring contracts aren’t nearly as valuable as they were several years ago, they still have some value. Washington will not want to take on any contracts beyond this season, but Nene is still going to be solid trade bait before the deadline.

The Washington Wizards need players that, you know, actually play.

Nene missed countless games with a strained calf, played two straight, then sat out another one with strained triceps. He’s going to finish this season out and will likely retire afterwards. Nene has no incentive to play, so he’s going to continue missing games going forward.

Washington needs players on their roster that want to play and that want to earn big paydays after this season. Nene isn’t that guy. Nene has nothing left to play for and that’s become pretty obvious this season. Instead of waiting on him, the Washington Wizards should trade him for someone that will actually contribute.

Players like Ryan Anderson, who will likely leave New Orleans in the summer, have been in the rumor mill. The Pelicans will probably move Anderson before losing him for nothing. Washington could offer Nene and a protected pick for Anderson, who would be a perfect fit in the Wizards’ new pace-and-space offense.

Quite frankly, I’m sick of seeing players like Wall and Gortat being surrounded by players who have no desire to play. Nene is the perfect example of someone who never reached his potential because he didn’t have the desire to. His career is coming to an end and he has no willingness to play through injuries. I appreciate his contributions, especially when he first came to D.C., but it’s time to part ways with Nene.