As the season progressed — the injuries, the inconsistencies — some wondered if Nene should beware the Ides of March.

Thursday was the NBA’s trade deadline and the Nuggets decided to make a major move, sending the 6-foot-11 Nene to the Washington Wizards in a three-team deal that “came out of the blue,” according to Nuggets executive Masai Ujiri. The Nuggets received center JaVale McGee, forward Ronny Turiaf, a $13 million trade exception and a future second-round pick, while Nick Young went to the Clippers and Brian Cook headed to Washington, in addition to a future second-rounder.

The plan, Ujiri said, is to waive Turiaf to make a roster spot for Wilson Chandler, who said he expects a deal to be done on “Sunday or Monday.” McGee is scheduled to take a 7 a.m. flight to Denver today.

Nene has played his entire career since Maybyner Rodney Hilário was acquired on draft night in 2002. This season, Nene averages 13.4 points per game and 7.4 rebounds, the first of five seasons on a $67 million contract.

Nene not only played his whole career in the Mile High City but married a Colorado woman and lives in Denver during the offseason with their baby. Now, he is off to Washington to play for a perennial loser.

“I understand it’s a business of basketball,” Nene said in a statement from his personal manager, Alex Santos. “I want to thank the Nuggets and all the fans who have been behind me all these years, for good times and bad times. … I know God has big plans for me, and my future is in his hands.”

The high-flying McGee averages 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots in 27.4 minutes per game. He has a 7-foot-6 wingspan and, according to Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks, runs the floor faster than any other big man in the NBA. But he has shown immaturity at times, infamously including the time he celebrated on the court after a triple-double — while losing by 20.

The 7-foot McGee, 24, is a restricted free agent at the end of this season — he’s in the last year of a four-year deal worth $2.46 million. He can potentially help the Nuggets this season and give the Denver brass a chance to monitor his play, in regard to potentially offering a long-term deal. And it’s possible the contract offer McGee might receive would be for less money than Nene’s contract.

“I’m definitely excited about coming to a playoff team, but it’s definitely bittersweet,” McGee said by phone. “But I’m just excited about getting some wins. I’m definitely a hard worker. I’ll try to help the team win as immediately as possible.”

Nene missed most of camp, so his body was behind schedule heading into the lockout-shortened season. He played in just 28 of the 43 games. Last season, Nene led the league in shooting percentage with 61.5 percent, but this season he’s down to 50.9 percent. If one takes the season he played one game out of the equation, it’s his lowest percentage since 2004-05. He also averages 2.8 turnovers per game, the most in his career. And there had been murmurs in the Pepsi Center about his mental toughness.

“For us to do something like this has been very hard to do — Nene has been great for this organization,” Ujiri said. “We wish him the best. But we felt the direction of the organization was to go younger and see what we have. I spoke to JaVale. He knows about all the issues and (maturity) issues that people talk about and we spoke about that. … Historically, guys who come here play better. If you look at the progress of Timofey Mozgov and Kosta Koufos, even from last year to this year, we can’t wait to see the progress JaVale McGee can make.”

Naturally, there was an onslaught of emotions Thursday at the Pepsi Center as word spread about the big trade.

“I can’t deny that my head has felt like it’s ready to burst a little bit,” Denver coach George Karl said. “Trades of guys who have been with you for a long time always cause some turmoil. Nene has been a heck of a part of what we’ve done here. He’s been through some tough situations with the cancer — there’s a connection there that I hopefully will always have with him. His family was very good to me through my cancer situation. So there’s more than just a basketball friendship there. There’s more of a friendship with humanness, mindfulness and soulfulness.

“I have a lot of love for Nene. I wish I had time for a walk; I guess that’s the best way to phrase it.”

Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com