BF EXCLUSIVE: Gilbert Arenas to be named coach, GM of Washington Wizards

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In a move that has shocked league insiders, the Washington Wizards will name Gilbert Arenas the first-ever NBA player/coach/general manager today, two team sources confirmed to Bullets Forever.

Arenas will take on the coach and general manager positions while remaining remain a player, the sources said.  He replaces Ernie Grunfeld as general manager and Ed Tapscott as head coach, though many people around the league said those two are actually alter egos of the same person.

"He basically runs the team anyway, so this really doesn't make that big of a difference," one team source said. "This just makes it official. And Gil is hardly alone -- everyone knows the stars essentially make all the personnel decisions.  Do you really think Danny Ainge and Kevin McHale were the ones that orchestrated the Kevin Garnett trade?"

Arenas confirmed the news when asked about it yesterday, but declined to comment further, saying he would only address questions if they were sent to him through text message.

When told of the news by reporters, Tapscott said he was prepared for an uphill struggle.

"Well, it's certainly a blow, but like I tell the guys in my Palace of Good Play, you just have to keep on fighting through. Sometimes, when a car is coming straight at you at 100 miles an hour, you have to be able to stand in and take the hit. I'll be okay, I've taken those hits before."

Grunfeld declined to comment and was seen at a bar downtown late last night downing shots of tequilla.

Arenas already plans on making "major changes" to the team, one source said. He has already called Larry Hughes, currently of the New York Knicks, and asked him to retire and become Arenas' assistant general manager.  The source also said that DeShawn Stevenson is expected to retire and become Arenas' public relations expert, with rapper Soulja Boy as his assistant.  

"Like I told Gil last week, he needs to be able to make sacrifices to help us," Wizards forward Antawn Jamison said. "This was Gil's way of making those sacrficies. Now, all we need is for our young guys to step up, because they need to be the ones to dig us out of this hole."