Washington Wizards Would Be Crazy To Keep Nene Over 2016 Offseason

By Dave Daniels

The Washington Wizards have some interesting decisions to make this summer. A lot of them hinge on whether or not Kevin Durant will take a meeting with the team, but let’s be real. Durant isn’t coming home. If the Wizards were a squad even going to the playoffs, then it would be a different story. But there is no way Durant would waste the prime years of his career to be the star of a mediocre team. If he ever leaves the Oklahoma City Thunder, it will be for a contender that could use an upgrade at small forward. Can you say Golden State Warriors?

The Wizards, though, would be foolish to keep unrestricted free agents like Nene and Jared Dudley. Even if Durant declines their overture, they’ll at least be able to target someone like Dwight Howard or Al Horford depending on their preference. The Wizards could also keep their cap room open for future summers. Their front office isn’t smart enough to make that decision, but hopefully they’ll fire head coach Randy Wittman over the offseason. Can you believe that the longest tenured coaches in the NBA are Gregg Popovich, Erik Spoelstra, Rick Carlisle, Frank Vogel, Dwane Casey and Wittman? Randy has no business being on that list, and he should be off of it by next October.

As for Nene, he probably won’t be involved with the Wizards either at the start of next year, because too many teams will be offering him a large contract in this financial climate. Washington won’t be able to afford paying their backup big man over $5 million per year, and he will get offers for much more than that.

The Wizards must use their money intelligently this summer. No one knows how the cap will fluctuate in the future, and they mustn’t burden themselves with a bunch of contracts that eliminate their flexibility. Not signing Nene to a lengthy deal is the first step in that process.

Share On FacebookShare StumbleUpon

You May Also Like