DEFCON 4 in Washington: Gilbert Arenas Opting Out in ‘08
Uncategorized June 11th. 2007, 5:59pm
Our friend Gilbert Arenas – gambler, party animal, and blogger – dropped a bomb on Washington this weekend that trumps anything Scooter Libby-related: Agent Zero told the Washington Post he will opt out of his Wizards contract after next season and test the free agent market.
Just in time for the Sopranos series finale, Arenas spoke in Godfather-esque terms when he said it was business, not personal … but trying telling that to the legions of fans who chronicle his every move. At least half a dozen Wizards-centric blogs have popped up in the last 18 months, and nearly all of them have Arenas as their central focus.
Panicked Wizards fans are saying the only solution is to upgrade the team immediately, and if that means dealing all-around good guy Antwan Jamison (19.8 points, 8.0 rpg) and a pick for Portland’s oft-troubled double-double machine Zach Randolph (23.6 ppg, 10.1 rpg), so be it. (Aside: How scary would that make Portland? A frontline of Oden, Aldridge, and Jamison, and a backcourt of Brandon Roy and any joker from your CYO team could be the beginning of something dominant.)
If we were Wizards fans, we wouldn’t be holding out too much hope for Gil to stick around. Abe Pollin has been recklessly guiding this team for years, and always seems to find a way to screw things up. This, after all, is the man has overseen: the franchise trading for injury-risk Pervis Ellison, trading away Chris Webber in his prime, trading away Rasheed Wallace after just one season, and dismissing Michael Jordan from his lofty seat in the front office.
Our thoughts are with you, Mottram.
Weekend of Gilbert (DC Sports Bog)
Wizards will try to keep Arenas (Washington Times)
21 Responses to “DEFCON 4 in Washington: Gilbert Arenas Opting Out in ‘08”
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June 11th, 2007 at 6:36 PM
TBL, you’re absolutely killing me. Abe isn’t the one that was making those decisions, that was Wes Unseld and co. and they’re long gone from the seats of power. This is Ernie’s team and he’s the guy that got Caron for Kwame. I know Prada is worried but this is all complete nonsense. Most people in town have understood for months that Gil would plan on opting out, it’s the only smart move to make. None of this means that Gil won’t be coming back, it just means it’s going to take a max deal which is by no means out of the question. If you listen to Gil you’d know that it’s not just the money but the years. The Wizards will be able to offer him the max over six years while other teams could only offer five year deals.
June 11th, 2007 at 6:37 PM
Nate Jones gets it.
June 11th, 2007 at 6:41 PM
i’m not a big NBA guy, so this is either a stupid question or one everyone knows the answer to already. but did gilbert pick his nickname because of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer becomes the Moviephone guy? “You have selected….Agent Zero?”
June 11th, 2007 at 6:44 PM
“Some things I know and some things I don’t.”
June 11th, 2007 at 6:45 PM
Dave, Gil didn’t pick it, it was bestowed upon him by the Wizznutzz. And no, it wasn’t because of 555-FILK
June 11th, 2007 at 6:50 PM
I’m going to start my own NBA team in upstate NY and sign Gilbert for unlimited Huggies, hot dogs and hugs. It’s going to be great. We’ll put his kid in the best school system. It will all be very irreverent.
June 11th, 2007 at 7:00 PM
USM – Friendly wager … i say if the Wiz don’t upgrade the team this summer, and get bounced in the first round again, I think he’s gone.
If you’re interested, let’s make it interesting.
I’ll buy you two tickets to a Knicks-Wiz game at the Garden in 2008-2009, and you’d do the same for me in DC.
* If the Wiz DO upgrade the team, this is off, though.
June 11th, 2007 at 7:01 PM
Doubt Ernie Grunfeld at your own risk. Something tells me Gil will stay in DC unless he develops unreasonable contract demands.
June 11th, 2007 at 7:05 PM
TBL, that wager is fundamentally flawed. How do you define an upgrade? Because I think bringing in Oleksiy and the 16th pick to be named will result in an improved roster. Especially if they can get anything out of Haywood.
June 11th, 2007 at 7:10 PM
True. Guess we’ll have to wait until August on this one. But if that’s all they do – and don’t get a post-presence – i’ll take the bet.
Not doubting Grunfeld at all … he’s done well in NY and Milwaukee. Doubting tight wad control freak Pollin.
June 11th, 2007 at 7:14 PM
gracias, unsilent majority. why don’t you just tell me the name of the movie you want to see???
June 11th, 2007 at 7:17 PM
The last personnel decision made by Abe was the firing of Michael Jordan, and that was a good thing. He’s not nearly as hands-on as he once was since selling a chunk of the corporation to Leonsis and bringing in a real front office.
June 11th, 2007 at 7:18 PM
TBL:
Thanks for the link, but you completely took me out of context. At no point was there any real panic in there. At no point did I say that the Wizards need to upgrade the offense RIGHT NOW. At no point did Zach Randolph’s name ever get mentioned. The last thing the Wizards need to do is panic.
We all saw this coming at some point. Obviously, Gil was going to opt out to try to get a max contract, and who’s to blame him. As UM said, the Wizards still have the best chance at signing him, not only because they can offer him more years and money, but also because nobody else has cap room. Even I’m not that naive.
The only thing that worries me a little bit is that this is Gil. You never know what’s going through his head, as indicated by the choice of words he used to both the Post and the Times. See here
http://www.bulletsforever.com/story/2007/6/11/14598/2869
There’s no reason right now to talk about doom and gloom. By the trade deadline, maybe. But not right now.
June 11th, 2007 at 7:20 PM
I just read, with the impending birth of his second bundle of joy, that Arenas needs more than a $65 million contract to secure his future. Must be tough times in NBAland .
June 11th, 2007 at 7:22 PM
TBL, if you want to see Gil kick some ass in DC let me know when you’ll be in town.
June 11th, 2007 at 7:32 PM
Washington , will be worst than Toronto , Great . Number Zero or whatever you fans call him is a flake ,now everyone knows it not just Warrior fans . Zero is a zero
June 11th, 2007 at 7:39 PM
TTDY, remove head from ass, commence typing.
June 11th, 2007 at 9:12 PM
This is such a non story. What,people expected Gil to re-sign for 50 mil over 5 years???? Everybody with a brain knew that it would take Max money to keep him. And that’s what they’ll do. For the Wiz to get better they need Navarro and the Russian draft picks to come over and join Butler and Arenas as a terrific young core. If those 2 guys suck the Wiz will be mediocre for a while
June 11th, 2007 at 9:31 PM
Brian – Good to know you’ve got it all figured out. Navarro and the Russian are going to be instant stars, right? The Wiz have a year to make something happen. They’re going to need more than what you just laid out.
I like Arenas and I’m from the DC area … this team ALWAYS finds a way to screw things up. You know they once had a roster of C-Webb, Howard, and Rasheed Wallace and found a way to fuck it up, right?
June 12th, 2007 at 3:29 AM
I’m born and raised in the DC-Metro area as well, and this is the best place for Mr. Quality Shots.
He can’t be anymore eccentric, walk around like a regular citizen and party without consequence in another place other than DC. He’ll re-up, they’ll make it as far as the conference finals, and he’ll demand a trade in 2010.
June 13th, 2007 at 12:16 AM
if he goes to a team in the west i would not be able to see an Eastern Conference team winning it all in the next few years unless miami or detroit did something really big, (hopefully cleveland can give james some help and possibly get back to the finals but i dont see that happening) Boston is an east coast teams that might have enough money to pull it off after theo ratliffs contract expires