RealGM

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/66759/20100523/report_wizards_ready_to_dump_arenas_will_consider_buyout/

If WAS buys out Zero,
should we make a go?

He's an all-star when healthy
and has his head in place. And,
right now, I think he's looking
for a second chance.

Which may be assurance, in fact,
that he'll be in his best behavior
so as not to put to naught all the
house-cleaning Bird did the past
seasons.

Think Artest @ LAL where he knows
that if he bungles this up, it'll be
career game over.

If we're willing to take the risk, he
can be signed for not much, methinks,
as he really won't be in a position to
be choosy.

He and Danny can feed off each
other as Arenas has shown he can
handle the point.

This way we stock up on assets, like
still keeping our expirings and our
pick, but get a huge upgrade
talent-wise.

Your thoughts.

If the Wizards buy out his contract, sign him to fill the pg is not a bad idea.

But I doubt he will come since there are many other teams can offer him much better than we can.

No

Sorry, I don't want the guy on our team. Would be a terrible PR move for the Pacers that's for sure. Yeah, lets bring in a guy who pulled a gun on a TEAMMATE! Not happening.

Agent Zero is a No-No.

$22,346,535 in 2013/14. Just think about that for a while.

Gremz wrote:$22,346,535 in 2013/14. Just think about that for a while.

We won't pay him that
if he's signed after his
buyout.

Oh sorry, hadn't read buyout in the OP. Even still, keep him and his chucking away!

And where exactly are we going to find this money to sign him anyway? It's not like he's just going to accept an Earl Watson-type contract to come play for a bad team. IF the Wizards buy him out, and that's a big IF, he'll have much better teams, with much more money, contacting him than the Pacers.

I swear I wish the off season would just be over already so people would stop cooking up these completely ridiculous thoughts of personnel changes that will NEVER happen. At least come up with something that's plausible, like signing Steve Blake or something.

NOTE: I DO NOT WANT US TO SIGN STEVE BLAKE. I'm just saying that's a much more realistic move for us than Gilbert Arenas.

Dunthreevy wrote:And where exactly are we going to find this money to sign him anyway? It's not like he's just going to accept an Earl Watson-type contract to come play for a bad team. IF the Wizards buy him out, and that's a big IF, he'll have much better teams, with much more money, contacting him than the Pacers.

I swear I wish the off season would just be over already so people would stop cooking up these completely ridiculous thoughts of personnel changes that will NEVER happen. At least come up with something that's plausible, like signing Steve Blake or something.

NOTE: I DO NOT WANT US TO SIGN STEVE BLAKE. I'm just saying that's a much more realistic move for us than Gilbert Arenas.

The posting is hypothetical in essence.
That is why the title of the thread ends
with a question mark and the first
sentence out of it begins with IF – as you
even stressed in your first paragraph.

I just think it was worth posting since
it's a considerably low-risk, high-reward
scenario that can give a jolt to our
beloved franchise.

And wanted to find out what other Pacer
fans think about it. Certainly, there's
nothing ridiculous about. Likewise,
isn't that what this board is for?

Peace.

MUpacersSIC wrote:Sorry, I don't want the guy on our team. Would be a terrible PR move for the Pacers that's for sure. Yeah, lets bring in a guy who pulled a gun on a TEAMMATE! Not happening.

Just for the record, he didn't actually pull a gun on his teammate.

Arenas as a Pacer would never happen even if he came for free. I don't think the fans in Indiana would get behind him, and I don't think Bird and Gil would have a good relationship. Larry's a no-nonsense kind of guy, and Arenas is the complete opposite. He never takes things seriously enough, which I don't think Bird would appreciate. I don't think Bird could stomach Arenas' taste for sometimes inappropriate jokes.

It's a shame, because he's extremely talented and he works extremely hard. He spends nights in the gym by himself just working on his shot. He cares about the fans -- every summer Gil plays pick-up ball in a pretty bad area of DC, Berry Farms. No security, no bodyguards, nothing.. just Gil and his fans playing ball. The media has really painted a bad picture of him because of this gun thing, but he's actually a good dude. I hate to see him get labeled as a thug because he's the farthest thing from it.

I call BS on the "buyout" possibility. Arenas is under contract for $80 million for the next four years. Any buyout would cost Washington tens of millions of dollars. There is no way they are going to just throw away that much money.

I'm sure they'll try to trade him, but Washington won't buy him out.

mizzoupacers wrote:I call BS on the "buyout" possibility. Arenas is under contract for $80 million for the next four years. Any buyout would cost Washington tens of millions of dollars. There is no way they are going to just throw away that much money.

I'm sure they'll try to trade him, but Washington won't buy him out.

Yeah, I don't find that article and its "sources" credible at all. The writer is inaccurate in many of his main points. I'm assuming that these sources are within the Wizards organization, and if so, if they're trying to trade him why would they talk to this writer and bring down his value by calling him a cancer, etc? Doesn't make much sense, especially when you're dealing with that large of a contract. You sweet-talk other teams, say he's in the best shape of his career because of all the time off, etc., not "he's poisonous."

BS, indeed.

Honestly, Washington's best move might be to just hang onto Arenas. He's not worth $20 million a year (there's only about two guys in the league who are worth that much), but if Arenas comes back on his best behavior, and Wall is as good as expected...that's a pretty smokin' backcourt. Arenas might very well be better playing two guard anyway; he's always seemed like more of a scorer than a pg. But maybe Washington fans who've seen him play more than I have would disagree.

I am skeptical of the article, but wouldn't be surprised if the new owner does buy him out. Leonsis has a ton of money and isn't afraid to use it. He wants to put his stamp on the team from the get go, so again, I wouldn't be surprised if they did buy out Arenas.

I wouldn't mind seeing him Indy, but with his past, there is no way it will happen. He is a gun, but Jamison and Butler still put up very good numbers with Agent 0 firing away from Baltimore.

I would think pairing him and Granger would work out, because Danny plays like Butler and can create his own shot better than Butler does.

He's no longer as explosive as he once was because of the knee surgeries so he's become a better distributor, I think, by necessity. Last year in the limited games he played I think he was averaging something like 8 assists per game? He's definitely capable of being a point guard, but he's still a pure scorer by nature. He has the mentality of an assassin, albeit now a slightly damaged assassin.

But I agree. If I'm Washington, I just hang on to him. Whatever they get in a trade isn't going to be of equal value talent-wise and a buyout will still hamper whatever they have planned for free agency and building around Wall.

I think their problem is going to be on the defensive side of the ball, but that's nothing new. Now they're just more dynamic on offense.

OnFire wrote:The posting is hypothetical in essence.
That is why the title of the thread ends
with a question mark and the first
sentence out of it begins with IF – as you
even stressed in your first paragraph...

I feel like you're writing everything in a poetic form that I don't understand.

If the Wiz really do buy him out I think that there are a few other teams that will have immediate interest that will be more interesting to Gil. Even if the Pacers were interested, my guess is that they would get him on a one year deal. He would do his best to keep his personal life in check and then sign elsewhere after that proving year was over.

This could happen

If Washington buys him out, much like Tinsley, someone could sign him and they'd be on the hook for whatever the buyout number was. I believe we could offer as much as I think any team would offer, the Mid Level Exception.

We'd be a great situation: no incumbent starter, a team with an okay supporting cast, a city inlove with basketball, we have Scotty Pippen to his Jordan(I'm not saying either is as good as those guys but I'd imagine them playing off each other similarly).

Anything he did in Washington is a Washington problem. This came up when Ben Rothlisburger allegedly became available on ESPN; a commentator said that all his baggage would be Pittsburgh's problem. Think about that. Your team is down(the pacers lost 50 games) and they take a minimal gamble(mid level exception is roughly 10% of the cap) on a player with elite talent.

Winning fixes everything. He could come here and win now. We have things Washington never did, players who can score without taking a ton of shots. Think about Washington's supporting cast: Antwan Jamison(a bit over the hill but productive) couldn't play with Gil effectively or LBJ, Caron Butler? couldn't get it done in DAL in the playoffs when he wasn't the focal point, or Andre Blatche.

Why does Washington buy him out?
This could be a three part answer: Firstly They are most likely drafting the point guard of the future, Gil doesn't look to be much of a play off the ball type, that could get ugly fast. Secondly he's tainted in the Washington market and for hardcore fans; moving Gil could be a net + for attendance this season. Gil might want out if he feels threatened by Wall, this would make him more amicable to a buy out if he wants to sign with another team to play his natural position; take a deal when you can make a deal.

Larry should take a look if they buy him out.
If you think signing Gil taints the team for you, would he taint it more or less than another 50 loss season?

The Wizards will not buy him out.
Wall and Arenas will play together

Absolutely not. Pacers are looking to clean up their image, not soil it.