Nene arrived at a critical time for the Washington Wizards. In year two of Ted’s plan and in John Wall’s second season, the team was floundering. The collection of recent draft picks and young veteran players on rookie deals were on the road to nowhere.

Surprising as it may seem, these inspiring words did little to instill the professionalism and leadership this team desperately needed.

“How y’all doing? This is your captain, Andray Blatche.”

On March 15th, 2012 at 9-32 in the midst of a lockout shortened season, the Wizards decided they had enough. The decision was made to trade two young players in JaVale McGee and Nick Young, two players who were in the last year of their respective contracts for Nene, who just recently had signed a 5-year/ $65 Million contract with the Denver Nuggets.

It was a shift in how this team operated. Instead of throwing a lot of inexperienced players out there and having them try to figure it out by themselves, the front office decided to bring a professional basketball player to the team and locker room.

After completing the trade for Nene, Ernie Grunfeld said “We felt like we needed someone who had more experience who could come in there and play and someone who is under contract for the next few years and be with us.”

The Ronny Turiafs and Josh Howards of the world weren’t going to be looked at to guide this franchise through the rebuild. They wanted a proven veteran and as Ernie went on to say, “We want to have guys that are competitive, that care about winning and losing.”

Fast forward three plus years and that sense of professionalism exists now.

The Wizards are a team that plays with effort (except after losses according to Randy Wittman) and excels defensively.

Last spring they participated in and won their first playoff series since the 2004-2005 season and have qualified for the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

Sure we can argue that the Wizards may have swung too far to the other end of the pendulum in terms of relying on veterans and have moved away from a true, lasting rebuild. What you can’t argue is the change of professionalism within the organization since Nene’s arrival.

But have the Wizards outgrown Nene?

The Washington Wizards are 9-4 without Nene this season (10-4 if you include a win at Milwaukee where Nene played 6 minutes before exiting with an injury). Let’s be honest though, the teams they’ve played over that stretch are by no means world beaters, sporting a combined win/loss percentage of .459 percent.

That number gets even worse when you look at win/loss percentage of teams they’ve actually beaten without Nene (.394 percent). However, can you ignore the fact that the Wizards are averaging 103.7 PPG in those 13 games? That’s five PPG more than their average for the season as a team (which is skewed by these 13 games so the gap is actually wider).

Outside of the statistical differences, what you see is apparent to the naked eye (yes, the dreaded eye test); spacing is better, there’s more room for the guards to operate, the ball moves more quickly, and Marcin Gortat, the player the Wizards re-signed to a $60 Million contract last summer actually gets the ball!

In the 13 games Nene has missed, Marcin Gortat is averaging 16.5 ppg on 59.2 percent shooting the field. He’s producing at this level while taking less than 12 FGA per game (maybe someone can tell Randy and his teammates to maybe run some more pick & roll…Like NOW).

Let’s get back to Nene though.

I’m in no way suggesting it’s time for the team to say “Thanks for your service Nene, but please turn in your playbook”.

Nene still has one year left on his contract and there is no indication that he won’t be back in the District next season. There is no permanent replacement or heir to the power forward position on the roster.

Drew Gooden is playing at a high level as of late, but at 33-years-old he is in no way a permanent solution, let alone even a solution for the rest of this season (although I’d ride it out as long as it lasts).

Kevin Seraphin’s contract is up at the end of this season and he may not be back, and Kris Humphries at this point in his career seems more like a high level reserve.

Nene’s defense and physicality will also be needed as the team prepares for the playoffs. When Nene is engaged and playing effectively, he can be a game changer as he was versus Chicago. On the flip side however, he can directly contribute to their offensive woes as his and the team’s struggles versus Indiana in the Eastern Conference Semifinals showed.

I suggested earlier this season that a reserve role for Nene might be best for him and the team and as-is, I stand by that. B

etween what the Wizards have at the power forward position behind Nene (Gooden, Humphries) and what they haven’t utilized enough (Paul Pierce as a stretch-4), there’s enough there to allow Nene to come off the bench in the short-term.

In the long-term it’s time to plan for a future that does not rely on Nene. The front office needs to finally find that player at power forward who can complement the now mature core; a player with the perimeter skills to open the floor and opportunities for the core players who are here for the long haul.

Nene has been impactful in his time since arriving to D.C. He’s helped to right a ship that was going very wrong and brought a professional approach to the franchise.

His contributions cannot be measured and he is still an effective player to date, but the current core now seems ready to stand on their own feet.