According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Gilbert staying on the Wizards wasn’t always a sure thing.

Injured Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas said Tuesday that a second tour of duty with the Warriors was more than likely to happen had his own team low-balled him during free agency this past summer.

“I was close to going back,” Arenas said. “If (the Wizards) would have flinched any, I would have gone back to Golden State. … My injury, they felt like they didn’t have to throw any money at me because there was nobody there. And then they found out (Baron Davis) opted out and realized (the Warriors) were still looking at me.

As we all know Gilbert’s a very candid fellow who can sometimes get a little too candid for his own good.  There probably isn’t a whole lot to read into (and even if there is, it doesn’t matter much since he did sign in D.C.), but it is interesting that he said that the day after Eddie Jordan (the only coach that he’s had since he signed in Washington) got fired.

As you’ve probably heard, Wizards coach Eddie Jordan is out in Washington.  Eddie Jordan is the only coach that Gilbert has played for in his time in Washington.  With Eddie as a coach, Gilbert turned into a 3 time All-Star and helped lead the Wizards out of the dregs of the NBA.  They’ve had their differences at times, but they enjoyed a lot of success together.

Moving forward, it’s going to be interesting to see what role Gilbert Arenas has in picking the next coach.  You have to figure that at least tangentially he will have an impact, because it would make no sense on Ernie Grunfeld’s part to get a coach that can’t maximize the franchise player’s talents.  But we’ve seen numerous times in the past where star players have played a role in deciding who would takeover the reigns of their team and I don’t expect this situation to be much different.

Imagine this scenario: Let’s say Avery Johnson becomes the front runner for the Wizards job.  Gilbert, as you know, is an Arizona alum just like Mavericks guard Jason Terry who played under Avery Johnson.  If they talked about Avery Johnson over the off-season and Terry gave Gilbert a less than glowing review (which sounds like a pretty safe bet, given how Avery’s tenure ended in Dallas), then Gilbert would probably voice some concerns about Avery becoming the new coach.  And if the star player is less than sold on the new guy, than it’s going to be a really hard sell for the rest of the team.

To win Gilbert over, the new coach is going to have to do two critical things.

1. Have an up-tempo offense: Gilbert has always been a force pushing the fast break for the Wizards.  Fast-break offenses are a lot like gummy bears in that once you get a taste of it, it’s hard to be satisfied with anything else.
2. Understand Gilbertology: Any coach coming in has to understand that Gilbert has a little different outlook on life so you have to coach him a little differently.  I’m not saying that they should cater to him by any means, but they do need to understand that you can’t do all of the same things that you would do with other players.

Needless to say, things are about to get interesting.

The Washington Post’s Mike Wise was at the unveiling of Gilbert’s wax statue and he wrote a column and published this video on his experiences from the event.  The column and the video both have quotes from Gilbert so check it out.

(Image courtesy of the Washington Wizards Blog)

As promised, Gilbert’s wax statue was unveiled today at Madame Tussauds.  I think it’s looks really, really nice and it’ll last a lot longer than his ice sculpture.

At the event, Gilbert had some things to say.  First, here’s what he had to say about the team’s struggles to this point:

“I don’t want to see them struggle, but if this is one of those years where we don’t make the playoffs or we finish in last place … that’s what happened to San Antonio and that’s how they got Tim Duncan and look at them now … and that’s for the better.”

He also had this to say about when he might be returning:

“They said Jan. 1 — there is no doubt that I will be good to go … play 40 minutes.

I definitely want to wait until after New Year’s. … It will give me time to get in shape. Plus I want to learn the new playbook.”

So there you have it.  As we saw last year, the return date is subjective and could very well change again in the coming weeks, but it’s nice to see that he’s not trying to jeopardize his future by trying to rush back and end up creating more problems.

They’ve all been made into wax!  Now, if you click on the link that I just posted and don’t see Gilbert’s name listed, that’s okay.  You see, Gilbert’s wax depiction will be unveiled tomorrow at Madame Tussauds in D.C.

So if you’re going to be in the area and you want to see something worthwhile tomorrow, I’d check it out.  Until then, I’m going to open it up to you all to see what you guys think Gilbert’s pose will be for his wax statue.  I’m hoping it’s this: