Free Darko just announced that Gilbert Arenas wrote the forward to their upcoming book, Free Darko presents The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac: Styles, Stats, and Stars in Today’s Game, which can be pre-ordered here.

If you’re familiar at all with Free Darko, then you know that this news has mind-blowing potential.  This could easily become the greatest foreword in the history of forewords.

With Gilbert’s value arguably at an all-time low after being sidelined for the second time due to his knee, some questioned whether or not Gilbert would still go through with his plans to opt-out at the end of the season, since he could probably increase his money-making potential by getting a healthy year under his belt.

Well, it looks like Gilbert doesn’t see it that way. According to Mike Jones, Gilbert is still intent on opting out of his current contract for a deal that “could exceed $100 million” (Mike’s words, not Gilbert’s or mine) this summer.

I can see where a lot of people would think this is a bad idea since a year of health would significantly increase his chance of getting a big contract. On the other hand, if he stayed in his current contract and got injured again, he could stand to lose a whole lot more than he has at this point.

Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld is going to have a end-of-season press conference tomorrow, so expect a lot of questions on his plans with Gilbert tomorrow. We’ll keep you up to date with what he says.

I’ve been avoiding this news for the last few days because whenever I hear the phrase “knee drained” it freaks me out.  Not just because Gilbert fans have heard that way too much in the last year, but because it just sounds weird.  Bathtubs get drained, sinks get drained, not knees.  (By the way, if you want to see what a knee draining is like, several people have uploaded videos to YouTube.  Just search “knee drained” and you’ll find what you’re looking for.)

The good news is, that if you believe Gilbert, hopefully this will become a thing of the past.  Here’s what he had to say about his plans this summer:

I’m not going to try anything stupid this summer. I’m going to take my time and prepare for next season. I’m going to be smart about it this year. I’m going to have five or six months to get this thing strong again and ready to go again.

Here’s your link.

Don’t worry, there’s much more coming on this soon.

UPDATE: The Washington Wizards’ Blog has the video from Gilbert’s meeting with the press.

I suppose if you’re an optimist that you want to look at this headline, while if you’re a pessimist, this headline will probably suit your billing.  Where does the truth lie?  Probably somewhere in the middle.  Here’s what Gilbert had to say about why he was limited in Game 3:

I missed the last two practices because I had achiness, and then I had an MRI before the game, and it said I have a bone bruise and a little pinching in the nerve. I said I would try to go out there and warm it up and see how long I can last. I knew I wasn’t going to play more than 10 or 15 minutes. While I was out there, I just wanted to energize the crowd, get everybody excited about being home and get some people involved until my time was up.

Later on he mentions that he might have been able to play longer, but elected not to because he’s scared of needles:

If we were on the road, I’d take the numbing shot and just play through it. But since we’re at home, guys’ confidences are higher, so I can risk just going out there for 10, 15 minutes. If the game gets close, then I’ll just play through the pain.

Thankfully, both articles say that the bone bruise and pinched nerve don’t present long-term risks to his knee, which is great news.  If he can’t make a go of it in Game 4 (which I personally doubt, but I’m biased) maybe his running mate can give the team a few minutes off the bench: