A report out of Washington has starting power forward Nene out for Tuesday night's opener against Cleveland.
The news was first tweeted by Fox's Sam Amico, who listed Nene out with a foot injury. According to Amico, the Wizards' starting lineup will feature Trevor Ariza, Emeka Okafor and Trevor Booker at the starting forward positions, with guardsA.J. Price and Bradley Beal in the back court. Point guard John Wall will also miss the Wizards' opener with a knee injury.
For those who have followed Nene's career, the news isn't all that shocking. The 30-year-old from Brazil has suffered from plantar fasciitis during the preseason, and was also limited to just 37 games in the lockout shortened 2011-2012 season.
Still, the news is disappointing for Wizards fans, who were hoping to see Nene as part of their new-look team this year. In addition to acquiring Nene from Denver late last season, the team also traded for Ariza and Okafor in the off-season, and drafted the highly-touted guard Beal out of Florida.
Washington Wizards' general manager Ernie Grunfeld said Tuesday that the team plans to bring along Nene slowly as he recovers from plantar fasciitis. The Wizards begin two-a-days on Oct. 5, but Nene probably will not participate.
