The Official Gilbert Arenas Shrine

[nate33]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2010/12/1/1848617/report-orlando-magic-discussing-trade-for-gilbert-arenas#comments

Well sh*t. I hope this is just a rumor. I think there is a great chance that this is a rumor.

But Shard/Vince for Gil/Andray? Putrid, putrid, putrid.

Ernie would pull the trigger on some crap like that.

No he wouldn't. As much as everyone likes to bash Ernie, he has generally been really good on trades when it comes to trading known commodities. The Butler for Kwame trade was awesome. The Jamison for Z trade was awesome. Even the Butler + Haywood for Howard trade looks pretty good in hindsight.

One can fault EG for not making great draft day trades because he isn't great at projecting future talent, but this is not such a scenario. There is no chance EG makes the trade as reported.

[JonathanJoseph]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2010/12/1/1848617/report-orlando-magic-discussing-trade-for-gilbert-arenas#comments

Well sh*t. I hope this is just a rumor. I think there is a great chance that this is a rumor.

But Shard/Vince for Gil/Andray? Putrid, putrid, putrid.

Ernie would pull the trigger on some crap like that.

No he wouldn't. As much as everyone likes to bash Ernie, he has generally been really good on trades when it comes to trading known commodities. The Butler for Kwame trade was awesome. The Jamison for Z trade was awesome. Even the Butler + Haywood for Howard trade looks pretty good in hindsight.

One can fault EG for not making great draft day trades because he isn't great at projecting future talent, but this is not such a scenario. There is no chance EG makes the trade as reported.

Agreed. I can't see any reason why Grunfeld would be interested in this trade. I'd be extremely disappointed if this happens and you can be sure that the Magic would win a title or two because of it.

[Wizardspride]

No he wouldn't. As much as everyone likes to bash Ernie, he has generally been really good on trades when it comes to trading known commodities. The Butler for Kwame trade was awesome. The Jamison for Z trade was awesome. Even the Butler + Haywood for Howard trade looks pretty good in hindsight.

One can fault EG for not making great draft day trades because he isn't great at projecting future talent, but this is not such a scenario. There is no chance EG makes the trade as reported.

Apparently, your faith in Ernie is greater than mine.

[Ruzious]

Yeah, there's zero chance that Lewis is involved in a trade with the Wiz. He fits with Orlando, because his skills complement Howard's, and his weaknesses are covered by Howard's presence. He doesn't fit with the Wiz skillswise, age-wise, or contract-wise.

Really, the only way I see an Arenas to Orlando (for VC) trade happening is if Orlando sees Jameer Nelson wear down. He's become an excellent player, and they need to make sure he's healthy come playoffs time. If Nelson gets injured at some point before the trade deadline, I'd expect trade rumors to heat up.

[nate33]

EG gets unnecessarily bashed way too much here. He may not be a visionary exec., but he's not an idiot either. He's a competent GM. A competent GM wouldn't get swindled in a trade like this.

I am not worried at all. I guarantee that we won't be trading Arenas + Blatche + filler for Carter + Lewis.

[Spence]

I'm ambivalent about Ernie Grunfeld [to the extent that ambivalence is permitted on Internet forums], but I have more confidence in him than this. Only a GM on the take would accept an offer like this one.

[Halcyon]

I would cry if we take on Lewis' contract for Gil and Blatche. And then kill Ernie.

But again, it is just too mind-boggling to happen, so I'm not too worried.

[Rafael122]

Ernie gets compared a lot to the Sam Presti's and Morey's of the world. If I recall, Morey hasn't brought a championship to Houston, so while he's made great moves, it hasn't panned out. We mocked the hell out of the Knicks for trading or swapping 1st round picks but the Knicks have a better record than Houston and may get a higher pick as a result! Second, a guy like Presti. I will give him his due, he's built a great team, but that's because they have been terrible for the last half decade. He was in a great position the year he picked Durant. It didn't matter who he would have picked, he would have taken the guy Portland wasn't going to take.

I give Ernie a B-/C+. He built this team to make the playoffs 4 years in a row, we got spoiled a bit, and now we're rebuilding. I want to see what Ernie does with this team over the next 2 years.

[queridiculo]

One can fault EG for not making great draft day trades because he isn't great at projecting future talent, but this is not such a scenario. There is no chance EG makes the trade as reported.

That deal, as portrayed by the article simply doesn't fit EGs track record.

What's the incentive for Washington to acquire Lewis exactly, and are we to believe that the Magic would require Blatche to be sent as part of this trade to offset Gilberts contract? It doesn't make much sense really.

Sure, the numbers may fit, but if Washington is going to include Blatche in this trade, they're not going to do it to take on Lewis contract in return.

The only way I could possibly imagine those two teams and players involved if there is a 2nd team that either has a young asset to include, or a pick coming Washington's way.

[keynote]

Ted just killed this latest rumor:

Wizards owner Ted Leonsis shot down an Internet rumor on Wednesday that the team has engaged in discussions with the Orlando Magic about a possible trade involving Gilbert Arenas. Leonsis also hoped to quell the perception that the team is looking to move the three-time all-star.

The Magic blog Orlando Pinstriped Post reported that the Wizards and Magic have kept an ongoing dialogue about Arenas. Leonsis wrote in an e-mail, "It isn't true. I wouldn't tell you if it was true but I am telling you that it is not true."

A league source said on Wednesday that the Magic is open to making roster upgrades, with targets including Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Arenas, given his connection with Magic General Manager Otis Smith. The Wizards contacted the Magic last summer about trading Arenas for Vince Carter's expiring contract, but the conversation didn't get very far. The source, though, said the talks were never totally dead.

But the source said the possibility that Orlando would want to deal for Arenas is "probably pretty slim. Right now, Orlando feels like Gilbert's contract is a little too huge for them. It hasn't been completely ruled out. But it's a little too rich."

Arenas, who has dealt with knee injuries and a season-ending suspension the past few years, is set to earn more than $62 million in the three seasons after this one. The source added that Orlando is probably the most likely destination for Arenas if he is dealt. The Clippers have interest, the source said, but the Wizards don't want to take back Baron Davis in return.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizard ... de-ru.html

This is the first I've heard of the Clips' interest in Gil. I know they were a coin flip away from landing him back in the day. But, unless they still have a lot of cap room, I can't think of any their contracts I'd want the Wizards taking back in return.

[bullitz]

Ted just killed this latest rumor:

Wizards owner Ted Leonsis shot down an Internet rumor on Wednesday that the team has engaged in discussions with the Orlando Magic about a possible trade involving Gilbert Arenas. Leonsis also hoped to quell the perception that the team is looking to move the three-time all-star.

The Magic blog Orlando Pinstriped Post reported that the Wizards and Magic have kept an ongoing dialogue about Arenas. Leonsis wrote in an e-mail, "It isn't true. I wouldn't tell you if it was true but I am telling you that it is not true."

A league source said on Wednesday that the Magic is open to making roster upgrades, with targets including Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Arenas, given his connection with Magic General Manager Otis Smith. The Wizards contacted the Magic last summer about trading Arenas for Vince Carter's expiring contract, but the conversation didn't get very far. The source, though, said the talks were never totally dead.

But the source said the possibility that Orlando would want to deal for Arenas is "probably pretty slim. Right now, Orlando feels like Gilbert's contract is a little too huge for them. It hasn't been completely ruled out. But it's a little too rich."

Arenas, who has dealt with knee injuries and a season-ending suspension the past few years, is set to earn more than $62 million in the three seasons after this one. The source added that Orlando is probably the most likely destination for Arenas if he is dealt. The Clippers have interest, the source said, but the Wizards don't want to take back Baron Davis in return.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizard ... de-ru.html

This is the first I've heard of the Clips' interest in Gil. I know they were a coin flip away from landing him back in the day. But, unless they still have a lot of cap room, I can't think of any their contracts I'd want the Wizards taking back in return.

I may be naive, but I'm really starting to believe Leonsis re:Gil. Perhaps, Gil is the real comparison people should make with McPhee. Gil and not Grunfield may be the person with the shaky past that Leonsis fundamentally believes in and ultimately holds on to contrary to public (at least media personalities) opinion.

[bullitz]

Re: trading Gil as fast as possible because of injury concerns and because he's overpaid. Injuries are completely random. You can't predict who will or won't have issues based solely on their past. There have been more examples of players who have overcome a period of chronic injuries (Big Z, Grant Hill, Marcus Camby) then there are of permanently injured players (Penny Hardaway is the only person that comes to mind). With that in mind, I think a GM has to be really careful about making decisions to dump a player based on injuries. Certainly it should be a factor but I truly wonder how much of a factor it should be.

As far as overpaid players, welcome to the NBA!! You'd be hard pressed to name that many players that are not overpaid. Even then over half will be overpaid as soon as their current contract is up. To me it's about Gil's value to the Wiz now and over the next 3 years relative to his salary. So my question would be what is the likely-hood that we'd replace Gil's talent over the next 3 years through free-agency or the draft. Looking at the free agent crop of the next couple of years and the fact that it's still rare for players to switch teams, I don't think it's possible to do so.

I think it's very important that the Wiz institute a culture of winning. That doesn't mean they have to make the playoffs or even have a winning record. It just means that the team competes at a level that they know they did everything possible to win the game. I think Gil is instrumental in this task. I'm sure I'm not alone in observing Gil be a leader of the team at least on the court. He's been very vocal during the game and has said the right things to the press that can instill confidence in young players.

[hands11]

Wow

What happened to Gil tonight. Actually, the last three games he has lost his 3 ball.

Tonight he was 1-10 and 0-2 from 3.

He really seemed to have been putting his game together piece by piece. The last two games he seems to look tired or something. Maybe he is mentally exhausted from all he must have gone through in making a come back.

[hands11]

Gil is now 4-22 from 3 over the last 4 games. I can't wait till he finds his long ball again because this team really needs that from him. With Gil and Nick as our best pure shooters from 3 land, not having Nick healthy to play and Gil bombing from there is really hurting the team as it is harder to spread the floor.

But what I do like about Gils game is that he rebounds and get assists and steals. This shows he is trying to be a complete player. You have to imagine that he shot will eventually start to fall better. And when it does, it is going to be a huge boost for the team.

I think Flip is doing a decent job managing him as he gets back into game strength and game rhythm. He started him a few games at about 25 minutes, then worked him up to 30, then up to 40 when Wall was out. Now that Wall is back, he is getting Gil a little more rest and he got him back down to 30 minutes.

I think 30 minutes is a good amount for Gil for a little while. We want to make sure he stays healthy. For someone who has missed so much ball, that is what is best. Let him adjust physically and mentally to playing a full season. Plus with (Floor - my new name for Wall ) running around like a crash dummy, Gil will likely need to play 40 minutes again.

I like how well he played at 40 minutes a game which he got to do for 6 games in a row. But I don't want to see him do that for extended games just yet, nor this early in the season. You want to save a little gas in the tank for later. Its smart regardless if we keep him or trade him.

[willbcocks]

One thing I've noticed this year:

Gilbert is excellent at committing good fouls. He has stopped a number of fast breaks with non-shooting fouls this year and when he ties up guys, they stay tied.

Kip is good when we have a foul to give, but Gil is quite remarkable at it. The veteran savvy contrasts with our young players' fouls.

[AceDegenerate]

The best player this franchise has seen in 30 years.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkJqKOb0ZhY[/youtube]

[Wizards2Lottery]

I am devastated inside. I didn't mind losing Gilbert but to lose him in such fashion is a slap to the fans faces who have supported this sad franchise for their whole life.

All we get in return is a guy who has sucked ever since his roids were taken away and who has an equally ****, salary cap crippling contract.

[Scabs304]

I still don't see one source confirming this. I will not believe it unitl it is confirmed. I much rather of just gotten Vince Carter really would we be dumb enough to trade him straight up for Rashard Lewis?

[JWizmentality]

**** this ****!

[Halcyon]

Today is a sad day...