Oy, Gilbert

by Vanilla Gorilla on Jan 16, 2008 12:55 PM EST Comment 7 comments

So here's a post on TrueHoop:

Gilbert Arenas Throws Down the Gauntlet to the Wizards
January 15, 2008 5:00 PM
On his NBA.com blog, on a day when Washington is enraptured with the other Wizards, injured star Gilbert Arenas writes:

I want to get a six-year deal. I want to be a max player. If my team decides that they don't want me here any more and they're going to go in a different direction, then I got to look elsewhere. For me to look elsewhere, I want to go find a championship team who's a championship contender. I'm going to have to take less money, but I'm willing to do that to win a ring. If my team doesn't want me, then I'm going to another team and I'm going to take less money to go there.

I'm sure he doesn't mean it this way, and maybe we'll have a clarification soon, but it seems like Arenas is saying that he'd play for passion, and to win in some other city. But if he has to play with these scrubs in D.C. ...
Meanwhile, "those scrubs" just beat the Celtics twice in a row.
And, looking at it from the other side, if you had a championship quality team, would you use your mid-level exception on a guy who dominates the ball? Having Gilbert Arenas on the floor re-orients the stars in your offense. (If you're Cleveland, I think the answer is yes. But San Antonio? Phoenix? Dallas? You can love Arenas from here to the moon, and still swallow hard before noodling with your roster in that particular way -- especially when you consider that he's little, not a great defender, and injury prone.)
More than anything, this might be an example of why players angling for maximum deals should probably have agents manage the process. It would be smart to avoid even the slightest chance of needlessly pissing off the only good team on the planet that can afford to give you big money.

I can't read Gil's comments any other way than TrueHoop's Henry Abbott does. And reading them that way suggests Gil is selfish or stupid or both. He's demanding the max from DC but he'll play cheaper elsewhere? My response to that is not fit for a family blog. What title contender can afford him? Is he gonna take the minimum? How'd that work out for Karl Malone and Gary Payton in LA? Is he gonna sign for big bucks in a more lateral move? Ask Larry Hughes how much he's enjoying that.

I'd like to think I take into account athletes' human perspective when considering such matters, but I'm having a hard time seeing how Gil's comment about his contract situation isn't just a total dick move toward the franchise that paid him huge money already and has seen him blossom as a superstar. I'm not saying that should count for something at the negotiating table, but to say he'd sign for less elsewhere ... cripes. My first reaction is to say fuck him -- we're doing OK without him, and we can use the cap room to sign someone who doesn't pull shit like this.

This represents the view of the user who wrote the FanPost, and not the entire Bullets Forever community. We're a place of many opinions, not just one.

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Its funny...

I read this too, then I read Gil's whole blog. He spends about 30 paragraphs talking about how the Wiz are "his team" even though he's injured and praising the Wiz, especially Caron, for their play while he's been out.

Then you have this one paragraph that was reprinted in TrueHoop, and you crap yourself. Talk about your mixed messages.

The Washington Wizards: providing career scoring nights for unknown opposing bench players since 2004.

by mamemimo on Jan 16, 2008 12:58 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Gilbert needs to be quiet for once

I love Gilbert's blog. I have always loved how he speaks his mind no matter how controversial the statement but I'm actually starting to want him to be quiet about this contract stuff. He's praising the Wizards in one sentence and then implying that they aren't championship material the next. He talks about how it's his team yet he has said in the past that he doesn't want to be the leader. He writes about Deng, Gordon etc. being stupid to turn down the money they are being offered because you have to know what you are worth and then says he wants a max deal forgetting that he's been injured and no one knows how he fits with the team anymore. He writes about how he might not play this season yet does he still expect a max deal? Does he expect Grunfeld to give him a max deal based on what he did a season ago? Its very confusing and all very Gilbert. I hope he clarifies what he is talking about next post because right now he is coming off like an ass.

by ooba on Jan 16, 2008 5:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

I didn't get the point of those comments. Why would he leave to take a mid-level deal elsewhere just because the Wizards wouldn't offer him the max? That seems silly.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Jan 16, 2008 5:30 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Channeling my inner Gil

I think what this all comes down to is that for whatever reason, Gilbert gets the feeling that the Wizards might not want him back. Notice that he keeps saying "If my team doesn't want me." I think more than the money he's looking for commitment from the team that they're still behind him after the injury. Note that he never said if he doesn't get the max that he's going to leave, he just stated what he'd like to get. When he says, "If my team doesn't want me, then I'm going to another team and I'm going to take less money to go there." I think what he's trying to say is that if the Wizards didn't want to re-sign him at all, that he'd rather go and make less money on a contender (since I don't think any contender could offer him a max contract anyway) than make max money on a bottom-dweller.

Again, maybe I'm a delusional and biased here, but I don't think this is as bad as it seems.

Bullets Forever: Your place for the very latest in Wizards news and PhD-level analysis.

by JakeTheSnake on Jan 16, 2008 11:47 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Weird...

Wonder how he can call this "his team" when he doesnt even have enough respect to be called a "team captain". There's a difference between being the man on a team and being the guy who puts asses in seats. For instance, the Nets are Jason Kidd's team and Vince Carter puts asses in the seats to watch that team. This is Caron and Antawn's team, incase he hasnt noticed.

by Romans12 on Jan 17, 2008 2:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

nothing new

this is a continuation of his "i'm going to opt out" statement that he made before the season started. he wants a max deal, no surprise there. to me, he's saying that he thinks he can win a championship in DC, but if they "disrepect him" and don't max him out, or if they choose to go a different direction, he'll look elsewhere and try to go to a similar championship caliber team.

makes sense to me, although it's a bit arrogant to ask for a six year max deal coming off a major knee injury, especially after pronouncing a year or two ago that he'd gladly take less money to surround himself with better players and go after a championship in DC. i think the knee injury scared him and he's trying to leverage his way into more long term financial security. either that, or his psychological issues with trying to push people away to test their loyalty are acting up.

on the wiz's side of things, i think everyone knows the wiz will have to think real hard before signing gil to a max deal. at that price, i can understand an argument for both keeping and parting ways with gilbert. personally, i'd try to keep him.

he'd better know, though, that wiz fans are going to expect wins and a successful team if they max him out. if the wiz decline or don't go anywhere after maxing him out, he's going to hear it from the fans, that's for sure.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Jan 17, 2008 4:55 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Crappy bargaining

My read is that this comes down to Gilbert trying to blaze a new trail for athletes without agents. And so far, it's going terribly.

If this were to be said at the bargaining table, it's clear what he/his manager is doing. "Gil Arenas is a max player, he wants to see this team step up and acknowledge that. But if the team isn't going to do that, he's got options. Gil also wants to win a ring, and he'd be willing to go elsewhere for less if it meant he could get that ring." It's an okay opening spot for positional bargaining.

The problem is that Gil is trying to signal that to the team through his frickin' BLOG. that's very odd, very Gil, and in this case totally doesn't work. Dude, bargain with EG in private. Better yet, let someone else do it for you. Focus instead on getting healthy and proving you're worth the money.

by sierradave on Jan 17, 2008 5:00 PM EST reply actions 0 recs