Arenas for Vince or dump Arenas for cap space?

[hands11]

First gut reaction to this is - NO

Look. Everything points to Gil coming back and being really productive.
He played 30 plus games last year and showed that he was still able to produce. With another 3/4 of the season off to rest the knee, he should be primed physically to come back. Dude is a sharp shooter who can handle the ball, drive and dish. And lets no forget he is a gym rat.

Only problem with Gil was the problem I have been posting about for years. Its the inches between the ears. As for that, you have to think that what he just went through should help him wake up.

So all that is left is his contract and what value it has with the new CBA which we don't know what it will look like.

As a early Gil basher, I want to see what Gil can do for us this year. Specially as a SG. For me, everything points to him getting his head together and producing very well for us this year. Don't forget how talented this guy is. And he is a closer.

I think this is his time to put it all together. He just needs to stop being a goofy kid and become a professional focused player. If we get Wall and some other mature young talent, with Ted as owner, I think the environment is better for Gil. Gil is someone that needs rules and structure to be his best. We never had that for him. EFJ with Abe as owner wasn't big enough to handle Gils rise to stardom. They actually help create the monster.

Now Gil has been put in check. He has missed most of three years for ball. And at his age and with what just happen to him, you have to believe he sees he doesn't have time to waste. He can't afford another set back.

He should be more mature, health and hungry. I say let him play and raise his value. From there you have options.

We don't want a team of all really young players.

There is a great basketball player in Gil. He just needs someone like the Zen Master to squeeze it out. Now we don't have that, but Ted is going to instill a lot more structure and expectations then Abe ever did.

[JWizmentality]

Every wingman that played with Arenas had the best years of their career. He turned Nobodys into Allstars. That's indisputable! What will he do with Wall?

[LyricalRico]

I'm also very curious to see if Gil and Wall can play together. They have the potential to be very dynamic offensively. But there are still risks, and anybody who just assumes that it will work is naive IMO.

Defense will be an issue. Maybe Gil hurts the team less at SG because he's no longer allowing the other team's point to penetrate at will and create easy baskets for others, but he's still a poor defender who will be outmatched physically. And even Wall will have his defensive lapses, as all rookies do.

Even offensively there are potential problems. If John Wall really is a revolutionary player at the PG position, then you want the ball in his hands. But Gil has proven that he needs the ball in his hands to be effective. Will Gil be able to become more of a catch and shoot player? Or will having them share the ball stunt Wall's growth as a PG?

The most recent attempts at a double PG backcourt have been made by the Golden State Warriors. Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis were potent offensively last year but the team still lost a lot of games. Baron Davis and Monta Ellis were able to get to the second round of the playoffs but they still struggled defensively and weren't kept together longterm.

Of course some will take my post as me bashing both Gil and Wall and wanting to trade them for Dan Gadzuric or something ridiculous like that. I can't stop them and I won't try. But the point I'm making is that there are legitimate risks with pairing Arenas with Wall. I'm fine if the Wizards brass decides to live with those risks and try to make it work. But I would also understand if they decided to go in a different direction. I don't think the decision is as clear-cut as some here are making it out to be.

[hands11]

I'm trying hard but I can't see Gil wanting to stay in DC and not being the #1 player on the team. All focus on Wall will be very hard for him to swalllow. I can see Vince coming here being the leader more than Arenas playing at lesser role to a rookie. I just can't see Gilbert wanting to stay.

Thats just silly.

Look, any team that Gil would go to that is any good at all, he isn't going to be the lone star.

This ego centric mentality was the problem. He wanted to be nationally marketable and do commercials.

You go ball. You do what the team needs you to do to win and the attention will follow. There is plenty of press and attention for multiple players on a talented team.

There are only a handful of players that are top tier NBA marketable players at the Howard, Wade, Kobe level. While there are a lot more great ones like Dirke, Nash, Durrant, Kidd, Gastol, PP etc that still get PR but that don't get the kind of commercials those select few get.

Gils attention issue isn't with his teammates, it's with Stern. Gil was on his way to being one of the marketable players and he --- himself -- blow it by getting to wrapped up in it.

He would be best off simply realizing that he is still making a ton of money without the commercials. Time to go become of solid two way player who is mature and can win some playoff games. That will bring the at attention. That is going to be true regardless of where he plays.

Like Artest, Gils problem is Gil. If he wants to win and be the best players he can be, then he knows what to do. He just has to get out of his own way and stay focused one job one and stop acting like an insure 16 girl.

[azuresou1]

You guys are being irrationally high on Gilbert and irrationally low on Vince. Yes, VC is not quite as good as Gilbert right now. He also is essentially an expiring and owed $60 million less over 3 fewer years. Do you know what $20 million annually can buy you? That's two very good starters.

[queridiculo]

As much as I like the idea of shedding Arenas contract, the thought of Gil tearing it up for a division rival is making me sick to my stomach.

[cdouglas]

Every wingman that played with Arenas had the best years of their career. He turned Nobodys into Allstars. That's indisputable! What will he do with Wall?

Yes, I agree with you and surprisingly nobody else sees it that way. The TRUTH is everybody is blind and hating on Areana and refuse to give credit for what impact he has on his teammates(on the court). Everybody who played with Gilbert had their best career year and became All-Stars or ended up with big contracts. Everybody who played with Lebron have disappeared or has one foot in the NBA and one foot out. Who would you rather play with?

[WizarDynasty]

What was the chemistry like when arenas played with hughes and how will this chemistry be any different than with.

Wall is everything...and I mean almost identical to highes except that he is way more explosive. Both were long slasher with iffy jumpshots. Wall is longer than arenas...
gil's ability to theive next to hughes should alleve any fears of his chemistry with wall. I would love for some to break down the differences between hughes and wall.

[cdouglas]

What was the chemistry like when arenas played with hughes and how will this chemistry be any different than with.

Wall is everything...and I mean almost identical to highes except that he is way more explosive. Both were long slasher with iffy jumpshots. Wall is longer than arenas...
gil's ability to theive next to hughes should alleve any fears of his chemistry with wall. I would love for some to break down the differences between hughes and wall.

Viewing videos of Wall, he is definitely a better finisher than Hughes. If Arenas, Wall and Blatche would spend the summer creating some chemistry, oh this team will be one to reckon with. We know how good a passer Blatche is.

[cdouglas]

I notice alot of people on this board has harsh feelings toward Gilbert. COME ON!!! The guy has done alot for the community and now he's being bashed by fans, who once couldn't get enough of him and now want him to disappear. Yes, he made a mistake but we all on this board has made mistakes so who are we to judge Arenas for his actions. The biggest mistake Arenas made was inviting us into his life and becoming an open book to his fans. People are finicky! They'll love you one day and hate you the other. God forbid if Wall make a mistake because the fans will hate on him. Nobody is PERFECT so stop all of the hating on Arenas. Another thing, I don't understand the Wizard fans. They act like there's no room for 2 stars on one team. Abreast the moment and everything will work itself out. Don't worry about the contract situation because we really don't know what next year will bring us. I'm hoping that Arenas will suit up in a Wiz uniform in the fall and that our team will be a TEAM... Not looking for a one star focus team. I want a TEAM because that's what wins championships. Lebron, Garnett, Wade, Bosh, Pierce all of them couldn't do it alone. I'm hoping the Wiz are successful with putting together a team that wants to win a championship.

[nate33]

I notice alot of people on this board has harsh feelings toward Gilbert. COME ON!!! The guy has done alot for the community and now he's being bashed by fans, who once couldn't get enough of him and now want him to disappear.

Who is bashing Arenas?

I think a strong case can be made that it's better in the long term interests of the franchise to part ways with Arenas and go with a young, cheap, flexible roster. But that doesn't mean I think Arenas is a bad guy and can't still be a highly successful player in this league.

[dobrojim]

someone posted something about the trade saying

'as long as the Wizards don't view VC as piece'

I say, oh he's a piece allright, POS (not personally, as a player)
ORL gets to the finals with Gil replacing VC.

someone else questioned whether Gil can still play.
After what he did before his stupidity got him suspended,
he more than answered that question. He had a 40pt game
and left after a game where he got 19 pts, 14 dimes and 2 TOs.
And we won a road game even if it was against the woeful at home 6ers.
Yeah, I think he can still play. I bet he'll be even better after
having another 9 months to recover from his multiple surgeries.

Him and Wall deserve a look see as a backcourt tandem.

[LyricalRico]

I notice alot of people on this board has harsh feelings toward Gilbert. COME ON!!! The guy has done alot for the community and now he's being bashed by fans, who once couldn't get enough of him and now want him to disappear.

Who is bashing Arenas?

I think a strong case can be made that it's better in the long term interests of the franchise to part ways with Arenas and go with a young, cheap, flexible roster. But that doesn't mean I think Arenas is a bad guy and can't still be a highly successful player in this league.

That's all anybody is saying.

[JWizmentality]

I notice alot of people on this board has harsh feelings toward Gilbert. COME ON!!! The guy has done alot for the community and now he's being bashed by fans, who once couldn't get enough of him and now want him to disappear.

Who is bashing Arenas?

I think a strong case can be made that it's better in the long term interests of the franchise to part ways with Arenas and go with a young, cheap, flexible roster. But that doesn't mean I think Arenas is a bad guy and can't still be a highly successful player in this league.

Ditto...just not Vince though. Please God nooooo!

[Ruzious]

Actually, the player getting bashed here is VC. The funny thing is - last offseason, there were a dozen posters here pulling for trades to bring VC here, and I was practically by myself saying it would be foolish to trade for him. And now, there doesn't seem to be any pro VC posters. And the real irony is - it would be an absolutely great trade for the Wiz to trade Arenas for VC. It won't happen only because Orlando would be crazy to do it (because of money - a little matter of roughly $60 mil).

[AceDegenerate]

I notice alot of people on this board has harsh feelings toward Gilbert. COME ON!!! The guy has done alot for the community and now he's being bashed by fans, who once couldn't get enough of him and now want him to disappear.

Who is bashing Arenas?

I think a strong case can be made that it's better in the long term interests of the franchise to part ways with Arenas and go with a young, cheap, flexible roster. But that doesn't mean I think Arenas is a bad guy and can't still be a highly successful player in this league.

That's all anybody is saying.

Yet you seem to have as much a problem with anyone who says the same about our GM. Go figure.

[LyricalRico]

Yeah, I support Ernie. Big whoop. Wanna fight about it?

[JWizmentality]

Yeah, I support Ernie. Big whoop. Wanna fight about it?

Stop posting images you twit! You wanna crash the site before the draft even starts?

[nate33]

Yet you seem to have as much a problem with anyone who says the same about our GM. Go figure.

I haven't lambasted anybody who thinks EG should be fired. I just think too many people are being unfair in their assessment. You can't look at Dejuan Blair and then accuse EG of being the worst GM on the planet, when nearly everybody missed on Blair. You can't complain about resigning Jamison for a little more than he was worth but complain when Hughes was not resigned. No GM is perfect. A GM needs to be judged based on what was reasonably knowable at the time a transaction was made.

Some guys on this board, Dat2U for instance, have made coherent arguments why EG should be fired. The argument boils down to the fact that EG has been decidedly mediocre in his term here, and mediocre isn't good enough. I'm fine with that opinion. I just don't want to hear people screaming that EG sucks monkey balls just because he didn't make some fantasy trade or pick the one steal in a particular draft.

[fishercob]

Have you and Dat met up to perform "Ebony and Ivory" at a karaoke night in Columbus yet? This has to happen.