Photo by Brian Allen
At the NBA trading deadline last night, the Wizards, flummoxed by a disappointing 10-32 season, dealt away three players from their frustrating roster—Ronny Turiaf, Nick Young and that clown prince of on-court antics, JaVale McGee. In exchange, the Wizards received 29-year-old veteran center Nenê and forward Brian Cook from the Denver Nuggets (in exchange for McGee and Turiaf) and a draft pick from the Los Angeles Clippers (for Young).
The early analysis from the Post’s Mike Wise is that while this deal cost the Wizards the dynamic on-court chemistry between McGee and Young on an otherwise dysfunctional roster, it was the right move for the team to make:
The truth: Whether McGee was inexplicably sprinting back on defense when his team was still on offense or Young was missing a layup by throwing the ball over the stanchion while impossibly missing the rim and the glass, they were almost blissfully unaware of how comically bad their misdeeds came across.
In Nick and JaVale’s alternate universe, they can’t believe they were shipped out of town for anything less than Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in their primes.
That’s why the Washington Wizards are making a stab at a change in culture by acquiring Nenê, Denver’s 29-year-old Brazilian center, for McGee in a three-team deal that also sent Young to the Clippers. It’s a culture change as much as it is a change in the pivot.
But there was something endlessly watchable about McGee’s “alternate universe.” It was one in which he allowed himself to show fantastical levels of derring-do even when the team was losing badly. Perhaps he’ll continue his prankster streak in Denver, but at the very least, McGee leaves Washington with a record of on-court silliness. Let’s watch a few highlights:
December 5, 2010
The attempted free-throw line dunk: Against the Sacramento Kings, McGee grabbed the ball, ran down court and as the buzzer sounded, launched himself from the free-throw line hoping to ape what only Julius Erving and Michael Jordan achieved before. He didn’t quite make it.
February 19, 2011
The double dunk. At the NBA All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest, McGee wowed the audience by putting a ball through a hoop with each hand. It was impressive, but not enough to defeat eventual winner Blake Griffin.
March 22, 2011
The aerial block and steal: OK, this one’s kind of awesome. As the Portland Trailblazers’ Wesley Matthews went in for a layup, McGee used his impressive vertical skills to slap the ball away and get it back to the Wizards.
January 16, 2012
The DIY alley-oop: With the Wizards trailing the Houston Rockets in the third quarter, McGee, on a breakaway, bounced the ball off the backboard, then leaped up and grabbed it for the dunk. The Wizards lost the game.
March 13, 2012
The botched alley-opp and subsequent faceplant: Running toward the basket against the Dallas Mavericks, McGee jumped up to catch the ball for an alley-oop but missed the dunk. When the momentum shifted, McGee raced back on defense, only to slam into the side of Mavericks center Brendan Haywood and fall to the ground.
