Washington Wizards

Should Nene come off the bench this season?

Published Sep. 30, 2015 1:18 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Washington Wizards look different this year, but their expectations to win a championship are the same. To get there, they'll need to modernize their philosophy: play smaller lineups, shoot more threes and go at a faster pace.

None of these qualities jibe with starting power forward Nene, causing The Washington Post's Jorge Castillo to wonder if the team will have a new starter at the position this season:

Nene can still rebound, draw double teams in the post and play quality defense, but the Wizards may be better off with Jared Dudley or Otto Porter at the four for a majority of the season.

Nene can still contribute, but it makes more sense to split him and Marcin Gortat up instead of playing them together.

Nene was the starting power forward during the regular season and for all 10 postseason games, but he became the team’s de facto backup center in the playoffs when Washington went with perimeter-oriented lineups more often. Nene is slated to play more center this season and Coach Randy Wittman has mentioned there could be some changes in the starting lineups this season depending on matchups, which means Nene could come off the bench on occasion.