Buried under the headline of Martell Webster, Trevor Ariza, and Nene being shut down for the rest of the season were two "fun" facts about Nene's decision to put himself on the shelf.
1) It was Nene's decision, and when asked about it, Randy Wittman, "News to me."
2) Nene apparently thought that the toll taken on his body this year was so intense that he thought it might be the end of his career:
"I'm going to sit down.... That's not necessary, to play the last two games. For what?
...
I spoke to my wife, my brother, my personal manager. It was so hard to play the way I did. I thought it was the end of my career because it was so painful," Nene said. "I'm glad I (played most of) the season, but the way I suffer I hope never again.
via Nene declares himself out for last two games on CSN [emphasis added]
Nene knows his body better than anyone else, and I think he was totally correct in wanting to shut himself down for these last two games. I do think it's a bit odd that the list above of people he spoke to didn't include "coaching staff" or "trainers," but that's neither here nor there. He's been battling injuries all season, and he shouldn't beat himself up to try to help the team sneak up to the 10th spot.
What does kind of make me think, though, is Nene's thoughts about his injuries being bad enough that he thought about hanging it up for good. What if Nene retired? Everything we've been assuming about this team for the next few years would completely change. Perhaps a topic to tackle another day.