As the NBA Trade Deadline loomed, it appeared that the Wizards would not be able to make a deal. The Wizards have tried desperately to move team headache and fan boo favorite Andray Blatche but couldn’t find anyone to take him. The team had made it known that they would be open to trading anybody but John Wall if they would take Blatche as well. In essence Blatche became the Shipping and Handling for any deal an NBA team would make with the Wizards. Unable to move Blatche, the team looked to make changes elsewhere. According to NBA sources, the Wizards traded JaVale McGee and Ronny Turiaf to the Denver Nuggets for Nene. Also involved in the deal are the Los Angeles Clippers who will sent Brian Cook and a future second-round pick to Washington for Nick Young.

My quick reaction in (Washington) bullet form:

• Nene can be an all-star at center but after nine years and multiple knee injuries, he is very questionable health-wise. He also comes with a hefty contract: $13 million over the next four seasons. Bottom line he’s yet another bloated contract but he will bring both talent and human intelligence to the center position.
• The team will most likely not give up with their mission to get rid of Blatche. They can still try and trade him after the end of the season or amnesty his contract.
• With Nick Young out of town, Jordan Crawford can now embrace his role as shooting guard without looking over his shoulder. Crawford has become a better scorer over the last month and this is a sign that Crawford will be part of Washington’s long-term plans.
• We had high hopes with Turiaf but hasn’t seen the floor since the end of December due to injury.
• There’s so much to say when it comes to what I’ll miss about JaVale McGee. Luckily this video has captured so much of what I’ll remember about McGee:

Patrick Pho

Patrick has been blogging since before it was called blogging. At We Love DC Patrick covers local Theatre, and whatever catches his eye. Patrick’s blog stories, rants, and opinions have been featured in The Washington City Paper, Washington Post Express, CNN, Newschannel 8 Washington, and NBC Washington. See why Patrick loves DC.

You can e-mail him at ppho [at] welovedc.com