Gilbert Arenas’ recent Q&A with ESPN.com’s Michael Wallace was disappointing, to say the least. So let’s look back at some interesting tidbits from it, starting with the best part, which came at the end:

Arenas was asked: “Do you look back on anything that played out over the last 12 months with any regret?”

His answer: “Nope. No need to. Look around me. I’ve got a fresh start. I’ve got too much to look forward to.”

At one level, you think, ‘What an asshole.’ I’m sure Arenas wasn’t meaning to be an asshole, but it is an asshole-ish response.

But as a baseline, it’s a very selfish comment that comes as no surprise. Essentially, Arenas does not regret initially using his kids as a conduit for a lie to cover up his actions (because as court evidence would confirm, he brought guns into the locker room from home on the day of the incident … in a frontward facing backpack no less), then using guns as a “prank” in the building of the deceased owner of the Wizards, an owner who’d clearly made efforts against gun violence one of his priorities.

Read more »

One way in which Ernie Grunfeld can be commended is that he found a situation relatively suitable for all parties, speaking of Gilbert Arenas too. And isn’t that what it’s supposed to be about? Should fans always feast on the blood of perfect-world trades and maneuvers? Or should they consider moves in their entirety? Maybe that last sentiment can only be reserved for special cases such as Arenas’ relationship with Washington, but that’s all we have to go off nonetheless.

Let’s go back to mid-November when I asked Arenas why he went from jersey No. 0 to No. 6 to No. 9…

You can’t really go through a proper rebirth unless you change cities, traditionally speaking in the professional sports world. And now that Arenas has found a warm place in Orlando outside of the rebirth canal, he has switched jerseys again, going from No. 9 to No. 1 in the spirit of Penny Hardaway.

Ted Leonsis implored people to re-embrace Arenas, insisted that his team wasn’t looking to trade to maligned former star. But that was more about feel-good marketing buzz, not the type of words that make decisions. We knew this. We knew it’d be easier for Leonsis to alter his sound bites when rebuilding efforts naturally can involve decisions on the fly.

Read more »

Before a trade even went down, and as legitimate rumors made their infiltration Friday night, I somewhat contemplated the departure of Gilbert Arenas from the Washington Wizards. It was vastly incomplete, but my point was that in D.C., Arenas will be remembered for both good and bad, but mostly for the good.

As the trade became official while I was scrambling to get to the Verizon Center for the Wizards-Heat game on late Saturday afternoon, I spurted off several reactions on Twitter, but I don’t consider them as being anywhere close to complete either. The departure of someone who was so ingrained into modern D.C. basketball culture, much less franchise history, is difficult to contemplate, especially so soon. Surely many, myself included, will digest Arenas’ tenure in Washington plenty in the future … and then regurgitate and digest again.

But until then, below is one digestive attempt I made on the trade after Ernie Grunfeld’s press conference, which was held just over 100 minutes before tip-off. I had the opportunity to write this for ESPN.com’s TrueHoop blog, where you’ll also find a brief analysis of both of Orlando’s blockbuster trades from respective Magic and Suns bloggers in the TrueHoop Network. So, check out what I have to say below and be sure and get the full picture at TrueHoop.

Mr. Opportunity

In his news conference regarding the trade, Wizards team president Ernie Grunfeld spoke of the opportunity that presented itself. “Opportunities don’t come along that often in the NBA,” Grunfeld said. He later countered with, “People in this league will always want talented players, and Gilbert is a talented player.” That “always” for Arenas was evidently a closing window Grunfeld had to jump through on Dec. 18, almost two months before the NBA’s trade deadline. So why the urgency?

Read more »

Two initial thoughts upon hearing “strong” Gilbert Arenas trade rumors (via: Yahoo!, Orlando Pinstriped Post, Washington Post):

1) So what? If he’s traded, he’s traded. If he’s not, he’s not. Arenas has had a colorful past in D.C. that will always be remembered, mostly good … but it wouldn’t be colorful unless there’s some bad, and that will be remembered too.

Gilbert has come back relatively quietly this season (aside from emo acts, the fake knee injury, or shoe poop stories). Whether truly humbled, who knows, but he’s at least playing the part. The struggle with whether he should stay or go should now be released, regardless of if the rumors become true or not. People will surely struggle with how to remember him, many will dramatically paint broad pictures with broad brushes … just remember him.

It reminds me of a fight I once had with my girlfriend. It got pretty heated, and in a dead serious moment she looked up at me and said, “I hate to get all Mike Miller on you, but it is what it is.” And then the fight was pretty much over. I cracked up because she had the perfect way to break the tension, and get my attention, rending the conflict silly in the big picture. Then we moved on.

Otherwise, I know everyone would’ve liked to have that 2009 fifth overall pick and Ricky Rubio or Stephen Curry, but without Mike Miller, we wouldn’t have been able to add the absurdity of a repeated sports cliche as a way of moving on into the lexicon of this basketball franchise’s history and beyond. Thanks Mike Miller, thanks a lot.

Read more »

Some pics, commentary and links …

First, congrats goes to Tom Yi for winning two lower-level tickets to tomorrow’s Wizards-Heat game thanks to StubHub. Tom was the first to respond via email with the correct answer to the following Twitter Trivia question: “Name the last Washington Wizard to achieve 20 or more rebounds in a game.”

The answer, along with other Wizards/Bullets who have achieved a 20-plus rebound game since the 1986-87 season, can be found courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.

Tom writes about his Wizards fandom:

“I’ve been a big Wizards fan since moving up to the DC area after college.  I try and watch as many games as I can and read up on the blogs.  Truth About It and Bullets Forever are great.  My 5-year-old son and I are big Gilbert Arenas fans, but are still hoping he can regain his Agent Zero form.  We are patiently waiting for the young players to develop.  We are not big fans of LeBron to say it mildly so this is added incentive to cheer on the Wizards!”

Read more »

[Gilbert Arenas in high school - via SI Vault; h/t to Mr. Irrelevant]

After Tuesday’s game against the Lakers, faint rumors of Gilbert Arenas’ potential departure to Orlando or Charlotte evidently started swirling in the cold winds around the Verizon Center, per the Washington Post’s Michael Lee. Ted Leonsis could be composing a denial of said detail-less rumors as I type, or not … because he’d be wasting precious pixels denouncing rumors that seem destined to brew until the February 2011 trade deadline (and into the Summer beyond if that be the case). Meanwhile, Arenas continues to be rather tranquil amidst a frustrating season mounting for a Washington franchise that currently sits with a record of 6-17, having lost nine of their previous ten games.

Many people, myself included, have spent a lot of pixels analyzing Arenas’ Gilbertology … with mixed results. Trying to read into Arenas’ words can be rather futile, and is probably most akin to trying to decipher Braille using your teeth. It’s also pretty hard to dissect Arenas’ exact role on a team that has several issues from top to bottom, even if you ask him directly, as you’ll see in the video interview below.

Arenas’ per 36-minute numbers this season compare closely to the numbers he put up his first year in Washington, 2003-04. Let’s take a look: Read more »

{photo: Adam McGinnis}

The NBA is all about the Pick & Roll, right? John Wall, even in limited games thus far, is getting a crash course in the adjustments he needs to make in execution on both ends of the floor. The transition from college to pro involves more games, more minutes and more plays per game, and a majority of those plays involve … you guessed it, the Pick & Roll. So, if Wall is going to get better running the P&R on offense, and better at defending the plethora of young point guards in the League trying to do the same thing, he has plenty of opportunity.

After Friday’s game against the Knicks, I asked Flip Saunders to speak on Wall’s P&R execution and progression. Saunders said:

“Some of those plays are designed as a decoy to get other players open. I think what’s happening is John — we watch film, we have to watch more — he’s got to make the adjustment of understanding when players are going under those screens a lot, that’s when he can be more aggressive to the paint, and a lot of times, he’s kind of walking off those screens. When you slide off those screens, the defense doesn’t have to commit.”

Read more »

Last Friday against the Portland Trailblazers, the decision was made to bring Gilbert Arenas off the bench. After missing four out of six games and then coming off the bench versus Toronto, it was time for John Wall to start. But next to Kirk Hinrich and Alonzo Gee at the wings instead of Arenas? It seemed curious at a minimum. So, speculation, contributed to by myself and others, ran away with itself … because what else are we to do with curiosities? Feed the algorithm monster with pixels I suppose.

“Well, Hinrich IS Ernie Grunfeld’s darling (Arenas ain’t) … and maybe the team would rather get Wall and Hinrich used to playing next to each other for the next couple of seasons” — (even though Hinrich is likely to bolt D.C. as fast as Mike Miller did, probably back to Chicago when his contract runs out after the 2011-12 season … if he’s not traded before then).

“Maybe Flip Saunders wants Arenas’ scoring off the bench since Nick Young missed the Blazers game due to what was reported to be a thigh contusion.”

“Maybe the ‘Arenas and Wall can work together’ idea is being phased out.” — (amid rampant Arenas trade rumors that have been vehemently denied by Ted Leonsis)

“Maybe Flip Saunders was just grasping for straws with lineup changes on struggling team.”

Read more »

The Wizards take on the Raptors in Toronto tonight, still aiming to win their first road game of the year … and they’ll be doing it without Hilton Armstrong.

In a November 24 poll, when the Wizards were 0-6 on the road instead of the current 0-8, 33-percent of voters said the Wizards would notch their first road win tonight against the Raps. My dad recently told me that he thought the Wiz would get their first roadie in Sacramento — in that case, you’ll have to wait until December 8, when the Wizards would face the Kings with an 0-11 record on the road. The NBA: Where Amazing Happens.

Anyway…

Let’s look back and break down the play of the night from Monday’s game versus the Miami Heat. This one involves none other than Gilbert Arenas and Andray Blatche running a pick-and-roll, one where Blatche actually rolls to the basket. Imagine that.

Also imagine something else for a second … the Orlando Magic discussing a Vince Carter for Arenas swap with the Wizards, at least this is what’s being reported by the Orlando Pinstripped Post (h/t: Bullets Forever), also indicating that the trade could involve Blatche, Rashard Lewis and Daniel Orton as well. Read more »

The last time Coach Doug Collins and his Philadelphia Sixers came to Washington, they were treated to a virtuoso performance by John Wall.  He had 29 points, 13 assists and nine steals in his Wizards home debut, and he helped lead his team to a 116-115 overtime victory.  After the game, Collins sounded like a man completely in awe:

“He’s terrific.  I watched him play in college.  He’s just so explosive with the ball.  When you have a player like that you can almost guarantee that you can get a shot anytime down the floor because he can create something.  He’s so strong, and can get into the gaps.  He’s very unselfish and a powerful finisher at the basket.  He’s a terrific player.”

Tonight when the Sixers take on the Wizards, Wall will not be in the starting lineup (although he is in uniform), but Gilbert Arenas, who did not play against the Sixers the first time, will be on the court for the tip-off.  Arenas is coming off a game against the Pistons where he scored 19 points and dished out a career-high 16 assists.  With or without Wall in the lineup tonight, Arenas figures to cause just as many headaches for the Sixers squad, particularly the guards.

Before tonight’s game, Coach Collins talked about both Wall and Arenas, and the challenges they both pose for this Sixers squad. Watch the video:

Read more »

Much has been made about Gilbert Arenas eschewing jersey No. 0, and then going from 6 to 9 (very Jimi Hendrix of him). But why? Probably because Arenas’ past nickname, Agent Zero, derived from the number he chose to represent the slight of people saying he’d get zero minutes at the University of Arizona. The chronicles of zero have been well documented since.

Okay, so why No. 9? Well, it was probably time to ask Mr. Arenas himself, so I did.

“Nine means the rebirth … you know it’s the last number before you start something else,” Arenas said. But it sounds better coming from him, so let’s take a look-see:

Gotta like how …

Read more »

The Gilbert Arenas Hockey Assist: a screen-shot observation

Gilbert Arenas dribbles the ball up the court late in the third quarter with the game conveniently in hand, Kirk Hinrich prepares to set a ball screen for him.

Arenas comes off the screen and looks to make a move to the basket against Jose Calderon.

For whatever reason, it doesn’t really work and Arenas pulls it back — as you can see, the help defense is keyed in on Arenas and he likely knows this.

Read more »

“YOU SUCK GILBERT!,” yelled a member of the attending audience who witnessed Gilbert Arenas’ 2-14 performance (1-9 from three-point land), right after the final buzzer sounded on a Washington Wizards loss to the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night.

And Gilbert did suck, but getting impatient with his play right now lacks an understanding of how difficult it really is to score in the NBA … when the clock is ticking and the lights are on.

A lot of people can hit in practice. Regular guys, like this guy, go on shooting streaks by themselves, easily. Watch any NBA player, even a big man, in most non-game settings, and they are hitting shot after shot. Sure, hitting a baseball is probably the hardest thing to do in sports, so then shooting the rock in practice is the equivalent of Albert Pujols hitting countless dingers off a bullpen pitcher during BP.

“You always think he’s going to make the next one, that’s just the way he’s been,” theorized Flip Saunders on his streaky shooter after the game. “I hesitated because Nick [Young] made some shots, you know, putting him in. But the thing was, Gil’s the one guy that was actually rebounding for us in the second half. He was our second leading rebounder, and he was active as far as getting his hands on a lot of balls.”

And do give Arenas credit. He gathered six rebounds, skying high for an offensive board after a Kirk Hinrich three miss with 7:42 left in the game. That aggression led to an Andray Blatche layup, assisted by Arenas, that put the Wizards up 75-74. Arenas also, for a stretch in the second half, turned into a creator because he knew his shot wasn’t working (although four assists to four turnovers on the game is not a good ratio). It’s just that at the end of the game, Arenas was left wide open, and honestly, was the Wizards’ best chance to get hot and start sinking game-saving threes.

Read more »

[Shaun Livingston shows no fear going against the JaVale McGee tree.]

[Livingston ended up missing the tough shot ... but man, he and McGee are some lengthy dudes.]

Along with “no cheering in the press box”, and “no soliciting autographs from the players”, one of the rules of game-attending media says that we aren’t supposed to openly root for players. We are supposed to be as objective as possible so we can freely vacillate between criticism and praise, without worrying about offending our own sensibilities.

In three years covering the NBA, I think I’ve done a stellar job of obeying all of these rules.  I’ve slipped up a few times and pumped my fist, but I catch myself before anyone can see me.  I’ve  praised and criticized players and coaches (most recently Flip Saunders) with a clear conscience, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. And lest we forget, basketball writers tend to be basketball fans too.

Read more »