Arenas Traded for Rashard Lewis

Chocolate City Jordanaire · Post #1101 » by **Chocolate City Jordanaire** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 10:18 pm

Roy's comeback was terrific. I had written him off and I was so happy for him this weekend. Unfortunately, I didn't see Gil's game on Easter. I am glad he played well. Wish I saw it and that his team had won with him being the hero like Roy.

My one comment is that I didn't expect 20 from Gil (just like I didn't expect Roy to come back).

Let's hope with J-Rich back and with Gil's newfound confidence, Arenas will be part of at least one or two Magic wins this series. SVG needs to shift his strategy now with Gil part of the plan.

hands11 · Post #1102 » by **hands11** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 3:18 am

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/o ... 570.column

It's time for Gilbert Arenas to save Magic general manager Otis Smith's job

Can he pull the Rocky comeback ?

Shanghai Kid · Post #1103 » by **Shanghai Kid** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 3:52 am

Arenas lives and dies off his own confidence, and I have to think that in game 4 he probably for the first time proved to himself that he could still drive to the basket and finish. I'm guessing his confidence should be high.

Win or lose, I think how Gil plays in this possible last playoff game could set him up to be the starting point guard next season. I imagine the possibility of that would give Gil the motivation to have a real hard working off-season.

orangeparka · Post #1104 » by **orangeparka** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:09 pm

Shanghai Kid wrote:Arenas lives and dies off his own confidence, and I have to think that in game 4 he probably for the first time proved to himself that he could still drive to the basket and finish. I'm guessing his confidence should be high.

Win or lose, I think how Gil plays in this possible last playoff game could set him up to be the starting point guard next season. I imagine the possibility of that would give Gil the motivation to have a real hard working off-season.

He still looked pretty slow though.

JonathanJoseph · Post #1105 » by **JonathanJoseph** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:25 pm

Dat2U wrote:Confidence is a huge part of it. I don't think Gil is done. Never did. But he's a weird place mentally, even for him. Gil is a rhythm player and playing off the bench doesn't work for him. Gil needs to be starting and getting plenty of minutes. What I've learned from Arenas' stint in Orlando is that Van Gundy is incredibly slow to adjust. He's been trying to relive the past with Turkeyglue and its been an abject failure, he's also stubbornly tried to make Arenas into the next Chris Duhon and that's been a complete disaster.

Also Jameer Nelson is what he is. A decent PG for sure but when your relying on the guy to be your 2nd or 3rd option, yikes! It may be too late this year but Gil starting & Jameer coming off the bench or getting dealt might be an upgrade for them.

Good post. +1

Post #1106 » by **LyricalRico** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 11:44 am

Gilbert Arenas, who has displayed frustration about his sporadic playing time since joining the Orlando Magic in December, needs to improve his relationship with Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, Magic GM Otis Smith said Friday afternoon.

"There's some growth there that needs to happen as it relates to him," Smith said of Arenas. "Their relationship is going to have to get a little bit better. The relationships in the locker room with one another is going to have to continue to get better."

"In Game 4 and Game 5, he realized that I'm useful so he used me," Arenas said. "Before the playoffs, I was just sitting in corners. I wasn't a part of the offense. The offensive is built for Dwight [Howard] and shooters, and I'm more of a creator myself."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/o ... ?track=rss

Locker room relationships need improving? It's not his fault that SVG hasn't been playing him? I love it!

:lol:

Post #1107 » by **Ruzious** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 12:10 pm

Yeah, for Gilbert to have to shoot and play with Dwight Howard... that's asking too much. :banghead:

We all know Gil says some stupid things on a regular basis, but to actually whine about having to play with Dwight Howard... If I was a PG, my dream would be to be on Howard's team. Gil, smack yourself in your face for me.

Hoopalotta · Post #1108 » by **Hoopalotta** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 12:47 pm

LyricalRico wrote:Locker room relationships need improving?

No, that has negative connotations. "Continue to get better" sounds much more constructive.

TGW · Post #1109 » by **TGW** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 1:26 pm

Idiot.

JonathanJoseph · Post #1110 » by **JonathanJoseph** » Sun May 1, 2011 2:16 am

You guys are off the mark on this.

Yes, SVG has mis-used Arenas. Yes, Arenas is a poor fit in that offense (as most NBA players are and is a question mark re: SVG). Yes, Arenas was sent to the bench because SVG decided that his central strategy for the season was giving Jameer Nelson more playing time.

Don't understand the folks who seem to be reveling in Arenas' struggles but there's no question SVG has contributed to the problem.

keynote · Post #1111 » by **keynote** » Sun May 1, 2011 5:08 am

^ I agree. Smith's trade only made sense if Arenas replaced Nelson as starting PG, once he got up to speed. I'm not sure what Nelson does that Arenas can't: Nelson too is a scoring PG with average court vision and below average defense - only shorter. But, for some reason, SVG stuck with Nelson. Go figure.

go'stags · Post #1112 » by **go'stags** » Sun May 1, 2011 6:45 am

Thing is, Gil is absolutely right. His quote wasn't complaining about having to play with Dwight Howard-it was how the offense is pretty much dump it into Dwight and spot up. I'm sure even Dwight is fed up with the lack of creativity in the offense. It goes back to what Dat said about Gil not being a spot up shooter and ball mover ie Duhon. Van Gundy, whom I have always thought was an excellent coach, did not adjust to his new personnel. The funny thing is is that the adjustments that he failed to make is exactly what the Magic needed, so its not like changing the offense would be placating Gil.

I never really felt strongly one way or another about Turkeyglue, but after watching those playoff games I had a strong dislike for him, mainly because SVG continuously called his number down the stretch, even when Gil should have had the ball, only to see him disappoint. Oh well.

Induveca · Post #1113 » by **Induveca** » Sun May 1, 2011 4:24 pm

go'stags wrote:Thing is, Gil is absolutely right. His quote wasn't complaining about having to play with Dwight Howard-it was how the offense is pretty much dump it into Dwight and spot up. I'm sure even Dwight is fed up with the lack of creativity in the offense. It goes back to what Dat said about Gil not being a spot up shooter and ball mover ie Duhon. Van Gundy, whom I have always thought was an excellent coach, did not adjust to his new personnel. The funny thing is is that the adjustments that he failed to make is exactly what the Magic needed, so its not like changing the offense would be placating Gil.

I never really felt strongly one way or another about Turkeyglue, but after watching those playoff games I had a strong dislike for him, mainly because SVG continuously called his number down the stretch, even when Gil should have had the ball, only to see him disappoint. Oh well.

It's pretty obvious to me Otis Smith and SVG were trying to emulate the 93-95 Rockets. Problem is while Howard is good, he's not the same type of center as Olajuwon. He's much more Shaq than Hakeem. They need a dominant SG/SF scorer who can get to the rim as well as hit a midrange jumpers.

The only guy probably available who could fit the bill for the Magic is Monta Ellis. He gets to the rim at will. I'd also trade for a few spot up corner 3 guys (I suspect a guy like Kapono would resurrect his career hanging out on the 3 point line with Howard).

Most importantly, it's time to fire SVG. I like the guy, solid coach but no excuse to get ousted in the first round with the talent they had....

Post #1114 » by **Ruzious** » Sun May 1, 2011 9:46 pm

Orlando has one player who's even up to decent on defense. They traded away their 2nd and 3rd best defenders and Lewis - who was a somewhat effective team defender for them. Otis Smith... blew it. It's hard to come up to any other conclusion, imo.

go'stags · Post #1115 » by **go'stags** » Mon May 2, 2011 9:47 pm

I agree. Orlando is not that talented-One reason why I think Dwight is actually underrated. But SVG still could have made better use of his roster.

TGW · Post #1116 » by **TGW** » Mon May 2, 2011 10:27 pm

keynote wrote:^ I agree. Smith's trade only made sense if Arenas replaced Nelson as starting PG, once he got up to speed. I'm not sure what Nelson does that Arenas can't: Nelson too is a scoring PG with average court vision and below average defense - only shorter. But, for some reason, SVG stuck with Nelson. Go figure.

He stuck with Nelson, because unlike Arenas, he can actually score at an efficient rate. Was Arenas remotely good at anything this past season?

dobrojim · Post #1117 » by **dobrojim** » Mon May 2, 2011 10:42 pm

they had their wing defender and corner 3 guy in Pietrus

I know they think they missed Turkeyglue before the trade
but I think they missed MP even more after the trade.
A healthy Lewis would have been helpful as well.

Post #1118 » by **Ruzious** » Mon May 2, 2011 11:58 pm

dobrojim wrote:they had their wing defender and corner 3 guy in Pietrus

I know they think they missed Turkeyglue before the trade
but I think they missed MP even more after the trade.
A healthy Lewis would have been helpful as well.

Yup, a guy like Pietrus might mean very little to the team during the regular season, but you need a wing defender like him in the playoffs. They didn't have anything even close to resembling him.

Dat2U · Post #1119 » by **Dat2U** » Tue May 3, 2011 12:10 am

Orlando's biggest failing IMO was SVG's insistence on thinking that Turkeyglue was the Turkeyglue of the past. Hedo was a shell of himself but SVG played him 40 minutes a night and made sure the ball was in his hands at the end of games. That was a recipe for failure.

Best thing to do IMO is to regulate Hedo the bench. Get someone like Battier in FA. Shake the cobwebs off Arenas and rebuild some of his confidence by naming him the starter and trade Nelson for depth at the 4 or 5. Then make one last run with Howard and see what happens.

CE Howard / Orton
PF Anderson / Bass
SF Battier / Turkoglu / Q. Richardson
SG J. Richardson / Redick
PG Arenas / Duhon

JonathanJoseph · Post #1120 » by **JonathanJoseph** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 7:51 am

Not to do this on draft night, but a pretty epic Tweet from Arenas.

my strugs were mental..i played my worst at hm..becuz i was always thinkin what the fans was thinkn about me..

http://twitter.com/#!/agentzeroshow/status/84163208641904640

We already know he's a headcase and Arenas is in the middle of one of his open trains of thought via Twitter This seems like therapy for him. As invincible as he thought he was 5 years ago, he's equally unconfident now and he's clearly very mentally scarred by gungate. I still remain convinced that Arenas' problem is mostly between his ears and is still an all-star caliber player with his current knees.

Not to mention that Arenas also commented on the Josh Smith trade rumors and that he doesn't mind backing up Nelson as long as he is used like Jason Terry.

edit: looking farther back, Arenas has been Tweeting non-stop for a few hours. Wow. Worth the read.