RealGM

What happened to him that made him decline SO much after 2007? He was a really, really good player during that 3 year stretch 05-07, and was still barely 25 during the 2007 season. He's Wade's age in fact. I know he had some injuries to his knee, but still only 25.
I mean during 2007 he was only maybe a level below what Kobe was

Also 2nd part to this question; If he didn't have such a bad decline could the Jamison/ Arenas/ Butler Wizards have become contenders to win the east?

MCL or meniscus tear and more knee surgeries afterwards.

By the 08 season he had 3 knee surgeries.

The rehab for this kind of injury is critical and Arenas tried to come back after only 5 months. 1 month later...he was in surgery again. And then more surgeries were required.

Arenas is a good cautionary tale for fans who complain about players like Rose who take extensive time to rehab.

Coming back from that many injuries is doable but still incredibly difficult. Feel like we don't give enough credit to the guys that have been able to do it.

Didnt want it bad enough.

He admitted that once he got hurt and got that huge contract that he didn't work as hard.

Probably pulled a gun on his coach this time.

Injuries, work ethic, refs sucking less at interpreting/managing the new rules.

Of these things, I think the first had the largest impact, given that he played 15 games over the two seasons immediately following 06-07. Then 32, then 70 (16 starts), then 17 (0 starts), then out of the league.

Yeah, the suspension and everything, but he just never managed to be healthy. He had problems upstairs too, but if he'd have been healthy, no one would have cared enough; he'd have had the opportunity. But yeah, he just didn't come all the way back as an athlete.

He simply lost his lift and couldn't get enough space for his shot.

He ran out of ammo.

Tried coming back too soon after some knee surgeries. One of them was a micro fracture surgery. It was on a non-weight bearing area, but he still needed extensive rehab and he skipped it in favor of coming back early.

Knee injuries not only destroyed him physically, but they destroyed him mentally. He was no longer fearless going down the lane drawing contact. All he did was shoot jumpers, and of course without that lift he couldn't do that either.

So tragic. Gil was incredible and was the most popular athlete in D.C. by miles during his heyday. He was so much fun to watch and made the Wizards relevant. I know he went full psycho at the end of his tenure but I'll always have love for Agent Zero. I legitimately think we should retire his #, and I love that he still reps the Wizards hard(his Raptor trash talk on Twitter this year was epic).

For the second part of your question, definitely no. They already peaked.
Jamison was never better after that, nor was Butler. And Arenas was also at his peak, and its doubtfull he would get that much better.
And even with all of them at their peak, they never managed to knock LeBron out (+Celtics forming at 2008).
They would never be contenders with that core. Pretenders, or stuck in a treadmill, maybe.

FrontPageNews wrote:He admitted that once he got hurt and got that huge contract that he didn't work as hard.

The last statement means what though? He was perhaps the hardest working player in the NBA. This really needs context for me to understand, since it could very well mean he was very hard working compared to the average.

Simple answer: microfracture surgery.

Lost his explosiveness.

It happens.

Sixerscan wrote:Coming back from that many injuries is doable but still incredibly difficult. Feel like we don't give enough credit to the guys that have been able to do it.

This.

I remember when Westbrook had all those knee surgeries and people were questioning if he could ever get to the level he was at, and then he has probably the best season of his career statistically and looks somehow more athletic than before. Props to him.

qm22 wrote:

FrontPageNews wrote:He admitted that once he got hurt and got that huge contract that he didn't work as hard.

The last statement means what though? He was perhaps the hardest working player in the NBA. This really needs context for me to understand, since it could very well mean he was very hard working compared to the average.

When Gilbert was first becoming a star he worked harder than just about anyone in the league besides Kobe. These are Gilbert's words. But he admitted in an interview that once he got hurt and got paid he stopped working as hard. I really don't feel like searching through hundreds of Gilbert arenas interviews but he did say that.

Would have been better on the bullets.

kodo wrote:MCL or meniscus tear and more knee surgeries afterwards.

By the 08 season he had 3 knee surgeries.

The rehab for this kind of injury is critical and Arenas tried to come back after only 5 months. 1 month later...he was in surgery again. And then more surgeries were required.

Arenas is a good cautionary tale for fans who complain about players like Rose who take extensive time to rehab.

Good thing Rose let his body heal instead of rushing back onto the court trying to prove he still got it.

But on top of that, the gun incident in the Wizards locker room was what did him in. He was a hindrance to that organization who successfully recovered a year after drafting Wall, and what the Magic is trying to recover from since getting just a large contract and not the production.

Injuries.

knees