Gilbert Arenas hasn’t been playing very well after being traded to the Magic. The backup point guard is only averaging shy of 8 points on a dreadful 34% shooting in 20 minutes of play. The big reason is his surgically repaired knee has caused him to lose confidence in his abilities:

“When you’re out there playing it’s like you want to go into the lane and jump like I know I can jump. But when I go in there I just don’t jump because I’m scared to jump. I have no idea why. I guess I’m scared to go in and jump off my left leg, but I know I can. I can see whenever I go up for a rebound I’m at the rim. But if I try to make a layup, I don’t even try to explode for some reason. I know that’s one of my problems. I’m not jumping the way I should be, so it kind of gets me scared a little bit of driving into the lane and going to explode. I don’t know why I’m nervous about that. I know there’s nothing wrong with me. It’s just mentally. It’s just a mental thing.”

Arenas said he will go back to Chicago this summer to work with Tim Grover to help get him back to playing like an All-Star. Gilbert’s contract is $19.2 million next season and $20.8 million as a player option in 2012-2013.

“I think John Wall will add years to Gilbert’s career. He’ll lug the ball up, he’ll run. Gilbert is a great shooter, Gilbert goes hard to the rim….John has great physicality and off the chart basketball IQ, and great players want to play with great players, so I think this was a great thing for Gilbert Arenas and his career, and I also think that Gilbert understands that he has to perform and step up. The best way to re-bond with the fan base is to come in happy and healthy and be a really really highly functioning trusted teammate and be very very coachable. And my bet is Gilbert can be all of that.” – Ted Leonsis

Some quotes:

That message of nonviolence will be front and center as I try to rebuild my relationship with young people in the D.C. area. I know that won’t happen overnight, and that it will happen only if I show through my actions that I am truly sorry and have learned from my mistakes.

While I regret a lot about this incident, letting the kids down is my biggest regret. I love the time I spend with the kids here in the District, and it means a lot to me whenever I can help lift their spirits or inspire them, especially kids who have difficult lives.

Some people may not forgive me for what I’ve done. But if I help steer even just one young person away from violence and trouble, then I’ll once again feel that I’m living up to Abe Pollin’s legacy and to the responsibility I owe the kids of the District.

“I appreciated the opportunity to meet with law enforcement officials today. As the person who caused this trouble in the first place, I thought it was my duty to be the first witness to come forward and meet with the prosecutors and detectives. I told my attorney I wanted to get in for an interview as soon as we could arrange it, and that was today.

I told the detectives and prosecutors the whole story about my storing the unloaded guns at the Verizon Center and what I was intending to do when I took them out of my locker on December 21st.

As I have said before, I had kept the four unloaded handguns in my house in Virginia, but then moved them over to my locker at the Verizon Center to keep them away from my young kids. I brought them without any ammunition into the District of Columbia, mistakenly believing that the recent change in the DC gun laws allowed a person to store unloaded guns in the District.

On Monday, December 21st, I took the unloaded guns out in a misguided effort to play a joke on a teammate. Contrary to some press accounts, I never threatened or assaulted anyone with the guns and never pointed them at anyone.

Joke or not, I now recognize that what I did was a mistake and was wrong. I should not have brought the guns to DC in the first place, and I now realize that there’s no such thing as joking around when it comes to guns even if unloaded.

I am very sorry for the effect that my serious lapse in judgment has had on my team, my teammates, the National Basketball Association and its fans. I want to apologize to everybody for letting them down with my conduct, and I promise to do better in the future.

I also want to thank the detectives and prosecutors on the case for the professionalism and courtesy they showed me during the interview today. I stand ready to continue to give my full cooperation to them and to the League as they investigate this incident.”

In today’s media session, Gilbert Arenas let it be known that there would be no more practical pranks, hibachi grills, or lengthy blogging. Arenas is focusing on being more of a leader for the Washington Wizards and even said he wouldn’t talk to reporters anymore if it weren’t for the fines from David Stern and the NBA.

“I’m 27 now, and I’m not the entertainer anymore.”

“When I was entertaining and playing, all that you guys focused on was my words. Now, I’d rather you just focus on my basketball.”

“When I had fun, I got criticized. So we’ll see what happens when I’m serious.”

From all accounts of teammates and coaches, the Takeover might just happen this year, even if Gilbert doesn’t want to call it that. One thing is for sure – Arenas is focused on this season and bringing the Wizards back to the Playoffs.

Check out some quotes from Washington Wizards head coach Flip Saunders, who traveled to Chicago to watch Gilbert Arenas play and work out.

“There’s no question, a player of his talent, when he’s playing, he puts us from a team that’s competing for the playoffs to a team that’s an elite team in the playoffs. When you walk in the gym right now, you wouldn’t think that he’s hurt. If he’s at that ability when our season starts, we’re going to be an elite team in this league.”

“He gets to wherever he wants to get on the court. His quickness is back. He’s getting his scoring touch back, and he’s getting his confidence back. He’s excited about where he’s at. He looks good. His weight is lower than it’s been in the last few years. … He feels he’s got some things to prove.”

“This whole team revolves around Gilbert Arenas. Everybody knows it. Nobody wants to say it, but I’m going to say it. I’ve been on this team four years — it depends on Gilbert Arenas. We can make as many trades as we want to. When he’s healthy and he’s playing, we’re a dangerous team. When we don’t have him, it makes it harder to move the ball; it’s hard to get things easy. That’s my point of view. If Gilbert is 70 percent, we’re going win a lot of games. If Gilbert is 80 percent, we’re going be No. 1 in the East. If he’s 100 percent, we might win a championship If he’s 70 percent, we’re still going to be good. But we need him on the court. It’s all on Gilbert. I don’t want to put pressure on him, because that’s my boy. I look at him as a best friend, brother. But it’s not pressure to him, because I know what he can do. If he’s healthy, it doesn’t matter what team we have.” – DeShawn Stevenson