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Photo of Gilbert Arenas by Kyle Gustafson |
True to his word, yesterday Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas opted out of the final year of his contract, leaving $12.8 million on the table in the hopes of signing a longer and more lucrative deal. Whether that will be with the Wizards remains to be seen. Arenas played only 13 games this year, his season cut short by a nagging knee injury, leaving open the question of whether any team will pay top dollar for a player who has not yet demonstrated that he is fully healthy.
Depending on which day you talk to him, Arenas either wants to be paid like one of the top players in the league or wants the team to take care of free agent Antawn Jamison before they turn their attention to him. Jamison made over $16 million last season. He's no doubt overpaid, but is also the emotional leader of this turbulent team and just turned in what was perhaps his finest season as a pro, averaging over 21 points and 10 rebounds per game. Reserve Roger Mason Jr. is also a free agent and will be looking for a significant pay raise over the $770,610 he made last year.
So if you are Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld, what do you do? Keep in mind he has a history of letting people leave rather than over pay them. Just ask Jared Jeffries and Larry Hughes.
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Let him go. Or sign him to a short term contract. I know it's a PR disaster but the guy hasn't been healthy in over a year and the team arguably played better without him.
First - Jamison is NOT the same as Hughes or Jeffries. Other than those two players being turds (and playing like it after going to new teams), Jamison is one of the leaders of this Wizards team. If he leaves, the team will suffer.
Second - Gilbert may have had injury issues, and may not be a leader of the team the way you'd want someone with a max contract to be, but he's the best thing to happen to Wizards basketball in a long, long time. You let him go, the Wiz are still a playoff team in the East, but one at that will never get out of the first round. Keep him.. you're about one player away from being a threat to go to the NBA finals.
Let him see what he can get. He's great for DC and sportswriting and he's a pretty good player when he plays, unfortunately it's not too often. He always seems to be injured around playoff time as well. I imagine he will test the market, not get what he's looking for, and will actually receive less money than what's currently on the table in a short term contract. Tough titties, glassjaw.
If you keep Gilbert, you are still a team that will never get out of the first round, just like you have been for the past 4-5 years. He's fun during the regular season, but this current team simply can't advance in the playoffs. It won't work.
Before this season, I would have said let him go. But the Wizards are last year's Lakers: one superstar with a massive contract and a mediocre supporting cast because they can't afford anything else (don't kid yourself, Lamar Odom stinks). If the Wizards could bring in a big man a la Gasol, I think they could have a shot, especially in the east. Can Gil pull a Kobe and learn to trust his teammates? I'm not holding my breath.
Jamison, Dwight Howard, and Al Jefferson were the only three 20-10 guys in the NBA this year. Not sure he was overpaid.
Carlos Boozer also averaged 20-10.
Jamison is a textbook tweener. He is a talented guy, but isn't irreplaceable, and every time I watch him in the playoffs he doesn't get it done. This team as it is made up simply is not built to win.
June basketball talk in DC? Zut Alors!!
Gil needs the supporting cast that Jamison and Butler provide; he's a great player, but not a locker room leader like Jamison. I've got nothing but love for Tough Juice, but he's a complimentary player; a poor man's Scottie Pippen. Most teams can guard two good players (Arenas and Jamison) but won't have an answer for Caron, so this situation is uniquely good for all three of those guys.
Strangely, I think Gil would be the easiest of the three to replace if you're just going to go out and throw money at the problem.