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Strange Timing: Arenas says he'll opt out in 08

By Mike Prada

Maybe we'll have to put that wallpaper on hold.  According to both the Post and the Times, Gilbert's announced that he will opt out and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

"To me, it's just a smarter business decision to play next season, opt out and then be able to sign a long-term deal that is going to keep me in one place," said Arenas, who is recovering from left knee surgery and expects to be at full speed in time for training camp in October. "I'm not looking at anything else. It's just business. If something happens where they don't want me or they're going in a different direction, I can look elsewhere. But my intentions are not to leave."

I really need to sleep on this before saying any more, but I really need to question his timing.  The Wizards are about to begin arguably their most important offseason in a very long time, and now they have to deal with this?  Why Now?  

At least he says it's not because he doesn't like the Wizards' direction.  

"I have children now and I want to make the right decision for them," Arenas said. "I am not going to have my legs forever, but I have them right now. At the end of the day, I might as well capitalize on everything I can while I have the legs to do it.

"I'm not opting out to leave. I'm opting out to sign."

I'm still kind of skeptical.  Here's another quote from the Times article.

"You are a little disappointed now," Arenas said. "At the end of the day, you're still in the first round. You get frustrated because you wonder if you are taking forward steps or if you are going backward. Our overall record is not looking better. We didn't have any more wins this year than we did last year."

I guess the best option for now is to build the best team possible for next season and the figure it out later.  Still, I'm starting to wonder how many more times I can defend the guy for his strange timing.  As we'll get to with his player evaluation, Arenas didn't have a very good season, and his inconsistency was one of the many reasons this season was disappointing.

I can't say any more for now.  Have at it in the comments section, and I'll come back tomorrow with more coherent thoughts.