Three-team trade nets Nene The Wizards took a dramatic and long-awaited step in their rebuild by parting ways at the NBA trade deadline with two of their most vexing and unpredictable players, Nick Young and JaVale McGee.
In a three-team deal, Washington sent McGee and Ronny Turiaf to Denver for center Nene and dealt Young to the Los Angeles Clippers for forward Brian Cook and a future second-round draft pick.
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The Wizards acquired Young with the 16th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft and then selected McGee a year later with the 18th pick. Both were mainly reserves until the team roster was dramatically altered during the 2009-10 season. While each had played significant roles since, neither had developed into consistent, first-line starters, and both had been synonymous with the lack of a winning culture inside the Wizards’ locker room.
McGee is averaging a career-best 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks this season. But he has been criticized and ridiculed for an off-the-backboard dunk during a loss to Houston, for running back on defense while the team was on offense in a win over Toronto and for goaltending a shot into the sixth row in a loss to Sacramento. McGee is set to become a restricted free agent this summer.
Young set a career high with 17.4 points per game last season, but it did not translate into any lucrative offers on the restricted free agent market, and he was forced to rejoin Washington on a one-year qualifying offer. Young put up a season-high 35 points against Portland on Feb. 14, but six games later he was benched along with McGee in the second half of a game against Milwaukee. Both lost their spots in the starting lineup for the following game.
Young and McGee are close friends, and both reside in Southern California during the offseason. This past offseason they created a series of online videos, called “The Nick & JaVale Show,” showing some of their visits with fans and charitable work. They also had a clip in which they tried to eat a spoonful of cinnamon.
Nene, 29, signed a five-year, $67 million contract with the Nuggets in December and is averaging 13.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. The Brazilian has been limited by knee and calf injuries for a good portion of the year, appearing in 28 of 43 games.
Cook, 32, is in the last year of his contract and has played only sparingly for the Clippers.
Turiaf departs having appeared in only four games for the Wizards. Turiaf has not played since fracturing his left hand Jan. 1.
The Wizards (9-32), who played at New Orleans on Thursday, were unable to part ways with Andray Blatche, who remains the only player on the roster drafted by Washington before the previous two seasons.
