Gilbert Arenas has been called a lot of contradictory things over the
course of his career;

An All-Star. A waste of talent. Entertaining prankster. Distraction to
the team. A fan who understands the privileged position he is in. A
player who has forgotten his responsibilities.

The Perception Of Gilbert Arenas:

The most accurate description of Arenas is ‘scrutinized’. The
frequency with which Arenas is examined, analysed and criticised is
unreal and the fact that he is yet to wave the white flag in surrender
speaks volumes about his resiliency.

Instead of folding under pressure like many would, he simply takes it
all in his stride even though he is constantly reminded of his
previous decisions whenever his time in the NBA is discussed.

People conclude that because of his career altering knee injuries (1),
questionable decisions surrounding his rehabilitation (2), the guns in
the locker room and the falsities relating to a pre-season DNP (all of
which have been greatly publicised), as well as some of his ‘close to
the bone’ comments on Twitter, Arenas should be the newest addition
into the Hall of Shame for sports stars – a home for athletes who have
seemingly had the world at their feet but through a series of bad
decisions, sabotaged their careers. (See: Michael Vick, Mike Tyson,
Tiger Woods).

And unsurprisingly, it’s those critics whose voices get even louder
when Arenas’ enormous contract is mentioned:

$111million for his services which, as of writing, averaged out during
his time in Orlando at 8 ppg on .344 FG% and his all time lowest 3P%,
2.4 rpg and 3.2 apg. Hardly setting the world alight, is it?*

The majority of what we know about Arenas comes through the media and
as a result of that, opinions are formed by whatever is shouted about
the loudest and the longest, which for Arenas, tends to be negative.

“Gilbert Arenas is too rich so buys a shark tank” (3)

“Gilbert Arenas got served child support and custody papers during
half time of a regular season NBA game” (4)

“Arenas laughs in the face of his gun trial by immaturely performing a
‘finger gun dance’ before a game” (5)

Despite the increasing pressure on Arenas to keep a low profile and to
conform to Commissioner Stern and society’s way, it’s unlikely Gilbert
will ever stop being Gilbert.

In a league dominated by athletes who are so acutely aware of image
that instead of being themselves they adopt a generic persona and hide
behind the façade of being wholesome, he is a breathe of fresh air.

Arenas not only breaks the mold created by others, he smashes it. He
says what’s on his mind, he plays the game the only way he knows how
and he does it all by being himself.

But as suggested by the polarizing views of Arenas, being ‘himself’ is
a double edged sword.

For every one fan who idolises Arenas and enjoys his charisma and
candidness, there are two detractors who will use the fact that Arenas
wears his heart on his sleeve against him.

Case in point: (6)

October 12, 2010

Wizards – Hawks pre-season game in the Verizon Centre in Washington

On the day Arenas is due to make his return to action after a lengthy
lay-off brought about by his firearm folly, he doesn’t suit up.

Instead he registers a ‘Did not play’ brought about because he claims
to be carrying an injury. Later on he tells the media that he sat out
in order to let his understudy, Nick Young, register some minutes on
the floor before eventually confessing that his previous reasons for
not playing were lies and that the real reason he didn’t want to step
onto the court to play the game he loves so dearly, was because he was
scared of being booed by the home fans.

Look at that again: Gilbert Arenas was crucial in making the DC club
relevant again and key in getting the team out of the first round of
the play-offs for the first time since the ’81-’82 season.

The Washington faithful were enamoured with Arenas thanks to his
off-court antics and on-court heroics and he quickly became the face
of the franchise. He was drawing more attention to the team and adding
more highlights to the Sportscenter reel than fans had seen in years
and yet, in an almost meaningless pre-season game, he was too scared
to take to the floor through fear of being hated by the very same fans
who had once idolised him and whose applause he had once bathed in.

The years of hard work Arenas had put in while in a Wizards uniform
were about to be wiped out in an instant. That doesn’t sound fair.

But that’s something Arenas is use to: He’s never been treated fairly.

On the court his perceived inability to run a team and style of play
led to him being branded ‘selfish’, despite making marked improvements
after his rookie campaign. (7) And the harsh remarks relating to his
behaviour away from the hardwood were similarly cutting even though
onlookers were encouraging him to continue being himself. For a
28-year-old who has been described as ‘fragile’ by his own father,
experiencing that must have been painful.

The DNP incident was the last in a long line of perceived
misdemeanours by Gilbert and due to the poor image he was now
projecting, the Wizards wanted no more to do with their former
franchise player.

On December 18, 2010, few were surprised when it was announced that
the Washington Wizards had traded their once golden child to the
Orlando Magic. And less than a year later Gilbert has found himself
out in the cold again as the Magic released him into free agency using
the CBA’s new ‘amnesty clause’.

The Real Gilbert Arenas:

Abandoned by the team he gave everything for, weighed down by an
enormous contract, confined to limited minutes on the floor and
receiving criticism from almost every corner, Gilbert Arenas now faces
an obscene amount of obstacles if he is to rescue a career which at
one stage looked to place him in the upper echelon of NBA stars. Many
doubt he can complete a comeback of that size but don’t be so certain
that he can’t.

For Arenas, the circumstances are familiar. The details may be
different but the task that Arenas faces is the same – disbelievers
polluting the air with talk of failure and reason to show the
naysayers wrong is something Arenas knows all about.This is what Gil
has faced his whole career…scratch that…his whole LIFE. The
negative arena that he now finds himself in would eat most people
alive but for the man who has dedicated his career to proving that
‘Impossible is Nothing’ , it’s no more than just another challenge. An
opportunity to prove himself once again.

Although it’s unlikely he will have ever have the plethora of fans who
once had his back, those that do stand up in his defence will do so
because they understand that there is more to Arenas than his well
crafted game and engaging personality. Behind the eccentric exterior
of Arenas is a man who is unlike most NBA stars – he is relatable.

During the 2007 NBA All-Star game in Las Vegas, Arenas saw a line of
Elvis Presley lookalikes performing dunks off of trampolines during a
time out. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, he picked up a ball
jogged towards the trampoline before exploding for a
through-the-legs-windmill jam which delighted his team mates.

In 2008, Arenas was at a press conference held by EA Sports in order
to announce that he was the cover star for their annual NBA Live game.
Watch the video and count how many seconds Arenas doesn’t have a
beaming smile plastered across his face.

The answer is zero.

His unbridled joy tells you how happy he is to be himself and how
happy he is to be in that situation. Those simple, almost childish
pleasures, show you yet another side of who Gil really is. He’s not
such a bad man after all, is he?

Arenas is someone whose game is as exceptional as the circumstances he
finds himself in but rather than being aloof and hiding behind his
money, Gilbert does the opposite and opens his arms to those around
him.

Little is known about Arenas’ unbelievable generosity but if you look
hard enough, proof of it exists. The competition he runs via his
Twitter account (8) to give away his game worn shoes for free has been
well publicised but that is only the most recent in a long line of
acts of kindness, acts that have included providing children of tragic
events with memories and experiences that they will never forget,
being a big brother to those very same children and checking in on
them to see how they’re doing, donating (9) money regularly to
schools, including local workmen in his impromptu Paintball fight,
giving away free jerseys… the list could go on but these are the
occasions that are barely reported, even though these are the
occasions that should define how Arenas is thought of.**

Former NBA player, analyst and current NBA coach, Doug Collins, said
‘That’s why he’s Gilbert’ following his All-star dunk but I don’t
think that does Gil full justice. Arenas has stated that he wants to
be remembered as a fan who got to play the game he loves. He
understands that he is leading the life any basketball fan would love
to lead and that is why he isn’t just ‘Gilbert’.

He is We.

*Gilbert’s numbers in Orlando were heavily affected by limited minutes
and role on a new team whereas prior to his move and whilst still in
Washington (10) in 2010, he posted averages of 17.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg and
5.6 apg in 34.6 mpg. Something that is ignored by the fault-finders..

** A number of the above links could not be added as they were part of
Gilbert Arenas’ blog on NBA.com which, due to the lockout, means the
information has been removed from the site. However, if you can spare
some time, I highly recommend reading through the court papers
associated with the gun trial. (11)

(1) – http://espn.go.com/nba/recap/_/id/270404027/charlotte-bobcats-vs-washington-wizards,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/11/21/ST2007112102862.html

(2) – http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/16/arenas-to-return-for-wizards-camp/

(3) – http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2011/01/rs-_arenas_1.html

(4) – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/05/gilbert-arenas-custody-child-support_n_819108.html

(5) – http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Gilbert-Arenas-continues-to-take-gun-case-in-str?urn=nba-212006

(6) – http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1177199/1/index.htm

(7) – http://www.nbauniverse.com/awards/nba_most_improved_player_year.htm

(8) – http://twitter.com/#!/agentzeroshow

(9) – http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/08/AR2006110800854.html

(10) – http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/arenagi01.html

(11) – http://www.scribd.com/doc/28857026/Gilbert-Arenas-Sentencing-Memorandum

You can follow the author of this article on Twitter at @keiththejourno

Me thinks that Gilbert Arenas has been given a gag order (not that it really matters with him but still) because he’s been keeping a VERY low profile of late.

I can say this: he is feeling pressure, implied and otherwise, to get back onto the court and start earning that $111 million but he’s also looking at this team’s record and at the fact that he has undergone three surgeries on the same knee and that’s made him very cautious. That pressure he’s feeling – from upstairs and from fans – is only going to increase as this season continues to go into the tank.

It’s certainly understandable to see why the team would try to keep Gilbert from talking.  One of the things about Gilbert that can simultaneously be endearing and infuriating is his honestly.  Especially given the flap over Gilbert’s tanking comments earlier in the season, it’s not that hard to understand why the Wizards might want to keep him away from the media where he might blurt out that he’s being shut down for the year, or whatever else he might say that could cause an uproar or distraction.

It sounds kind of sneaky and I’m not a big fan of it since it gives me less to blog about, but I can’t say that I wouldn’t be considering the same thing if I was in there position.  Of course, there’s no way to know for sure if that’s actually what’s going on, but given how little we’ve seen of him lately, it would be a stretch to assume that’s what we’re looking at here.

Here is the skinny, according to a source with intimate knowledge of the situation.

Arenas’ knee is better off right now than it was when he tried to come back at the end of last season. While he has yet to play a game for the team, he regularly plays in two-on-two and three-on-three games with teammates.

In fact, if this season weren’t already a wash, Arenas would probably, according to the source, be playing games right now. He would not, however, play in back-to-back games.

One of the main concerns is whether or not he would have any swelling in the knee and, according to the source, there is no swelling at all. This was not the case at any point last season.

Still, there is no guarantee that he will be back this season. In fact, with the Wizards so far out of playoff contention already, it is a good possibility that he won’t be back at all this season.

If it’s true, it’s somewhat depressing but probably good news in the long term.  The most important thing is that there’s no swelling.  As long as that doesn’t flare up, then there shouldn’t be any need for another surgery.  If it’s also true that Gilbert would be healthy enough to play if the Wizards were in the playoff hunt, that’s a good sign as well.  The thing is, if you want to believe this is true, then you also have to believe that Gilbert won’t be coming back this season, even if he gets to 100% before the end of the season.  While I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that being a good idea, it wouldn’t shock me if that’s the route they take.  Then again, it’s kind of moot point anyway since I doubt Gilbert or anyone else in the Wizards organization would come out and say that he’s not playing even though he’s completely healthy so it’s not like we would ever know the truth.

They are only whispers but I’m hearing chatter that Gilbert Arenas and the team is seriously pondering whether to bring him back at all this season. He originally targeted Dec. 1 as a possible comeback date and certainly expected to be in uniform last night but remains on the shelf with not clear date in sight.

When you add that together with Ed Tapscott mentioning a few weeks ago that there’s no timetable for Arenas’ return and it doesn’t take much to come to the conclusion that there’s probably at least been some discussions at Wizards headquarters about the subject, if nothing else.

Fanhouse’s Tom Ziller has penned the argument for the Sit Gilbert camp. Like all of Ziller’s work, it deserves your attention and consideration.  I get the feeling that my argument for Gilbert’s return this season won’t be nearly as well put, but I feel compelled to argue the other side, so here’ goes nothing.  Here are the reasons (in no particular order) why Gilbert should play this season if he’s 100% healthy:

• Many have expressed fear that all of Gilbert’s knee surgeries have robbed him of his talent and turned him into Penny Hardaway 2.0.  The only way we’ll be able to find out if that’s happened is to get him out on the court and see how well he performs.  If the knee surgeries have robbed him of his abilities it would be a devastating blow, but at least both sides would know what they have and they could adjust their plans moving forward, which would be big since the Wizards will probably have a high draft pick this summer.  Even if they just brought him back for a few games late in the season long after everything has been decided (think Elton Brand last season), it would go a long way in making decisions easier this off-season.
• Remember what happened last year when the team kept pushing Gilbert’s return back farther and farther?  The most disturbing line from that incident for me was when he said “Now, they are messing with my mind.”  While it seems to be more of a mutual decision this time around, you have to wonder if all of this time on the bench will play more games with his mind as he starts to question whether or not he’s ever going to get healthy.  And if there’s one player in the NBA that you don’t want playing head games with himself, it’s probably Gilbert Arenas.
• It’s hard to write a blog about a guy that’s played less than 30 games in the last 2 years.  I can only show those buzzer beaters so many times before they get boring.

We all know that Gilbert Arenas has a pretty ridiculous jersey collection (including a throwback Chick Hearn!) that’s always growing, presumably out of the fear that one day they’ll stop producing jerseys altogether and Gilbert will be the only place to turn to get a jersey…or something like that.

Anyways, last night during the Wizards-Pacers game, Gilbert added T.J. Ford’s jersey to his collection:

Rehabilitating Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas added yet another autographed jersey to his collection when the Pacers came to town, getting Indiana point guard T.J. Ford to sign a road jersey before game time.

Ford is a fifth-year player with a career average of 11.8 points and 6.7 assists, but his jersey wouldn’t be considered a hot commodity to many basketball fans. Arenas believes differently, however.

“I had to get it; he didn’t play for them last year,” Arenas said in the locker room before the game. “If it’s an NBA player’s jersey, it’s worth something. Any autographed NBA jersey is worth at least $250.

“But Kobe’s is worth between $550 and $750,” said Arenas, who figures his own official autographed jersey is worth between $250 and $500.

“They wanted bigger guards so when I come back they can play me at the two.  [Just a] Switch up.  They’re bringing them in to help me and Desteve.”

Now, Gilbert also makes it clear that a switch to shooting guard wouldn’t be a permanent switch, but with Javaris on board, it’ll be interesting to see if they utilize Arenas & Crittenton in the same way that they utilitzed Arenas & Larry Hughes during their time together.  Both Crittenton and Hughes are 6-5, 200 lb. guys who can play at point and shooting guard which in turn gives Gilbert the flexibility to play at either guard.

We’ll see how that works out once Gilbert comes back.  While Gilbert has worked on his rehab to get back on the court, he’s also been helping out the Wizards’ coaching staff, according to Hoops Addict.

During the many Wizards’ film session, Brendan Haywood and Gilbert Arenas are extremely helpful to both Coach Tapscott and the team in general.  Coach Tapscott said that they bring the unique perspective of being players but also being keen observers because they are injured, so their input is extremely useful.  Coach added that Haywood and Arenas also play close attention to the college game, and they can easily break down the top prospects in the college game right now.

Somehow I get the feeling that 10 years from now that there’s going to be a minor league team with an infrastructure that looks something like this:

Owner: Gilbert Arenas

GM: Gilbert Arenas

Head Coach: Gilbert Arenas

Head Scout: Gilbert Arenas

Starting Point/Shooting Guard: Gilbert Arenas

Mascot: Gilbert Arenas

“We’ll get together soon to write the script for his return, but right now, we are not at that point.  I ask him to come in and take a look at some of the stuff we’re doing. He has a keen basketball mind. He comes to practice, and he’s into what we do.”

I get the feeling that this means Gilbert’s return date has been pushed back a little farther.  Ultimately, it’s not the worst thing in the world because it doesn’t look like the Wizards are going to be anywhere close to making a playoff push this season (and that might be part of why his return keeps getting pushed back) but the longer he stays out, the more you get concerned that there’s more to his injury than the team is letting on.  Let’s hope I’m proven wrong, sooner rather than later.

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.