Tag: Washington Wizards (Page 6 of 11)

      Arenas doesn’t feel the Wizards have supported him

      January 15, 2010 /

      Get this — Gilbert Arenas feels disrespected by the Washington Wizards. Per the Washington Post…

      A person close to Arenas said Thursday that Arenas believes President Ernie Grunfeld and the Wizards management failed to support him following his locker room confrontation on Dec. 21 with teammate Javaris Crittenton.

      Arenas, the person close to the player said, has told NBA investigators that his flippant behavior following the incident, including the pantomiming of pistols before a game that led to an indefinite suspension from Stern, was because he felt the Wizards organization had turned its back on him.

      “If your own franchise, the people you considered family, weren’t there for you when you needed them most, would you want to play for them and be around them anymore?” said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Arenas “was wrong for bringing guns into the locker room, and it’s going to mean pleading guilty to a felony. It’s serious business. But the way this came out and how Ernie and the organization handled the facts makes you wonder if he will ever play for them again.”

      Let me get this straight: This clown brings guns into his place of business, threatens (jokingly or not) a teammate over a gambling debt, and expects the team to “support” him? When they don’t live up to his expectations, he mocks the situation during pregame festivities and them blames the organization’s lack of support for his complete lack of tact (and common sense)?

      A quote later in the story sums it up best…

      “Until Gilbert realizes none of this would have happened if he hadn’t brought guns in the locker room and accepts responsibility for his actions, he won’t be welcomed back anywhere,” said an NBA official on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

      The Wizards need to do everything they can to void Arenas’s contract. They’ve already paid him $40 million of a deal worth $121 million, so it’s not like he’s going to walk away with nothing.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Arenas charged with felony, reaches plea deal

      January 15, 2010 /

      Per FoxSports.com…

      Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas was charged with felony gun possession on Thursday in connection with a Dec. 21 locker room confrontation with a teammate.

      Prosecutors charged Arenas with one count of carrying a pistol without a license, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. But Arenas reached a plea deal that could result in much less or even no jail time, according to the Washington Post.

      Over on TrueHoop, J.A. Adande speculates (prior to the plea deal being announced) that the Wizards will want to terminate Arenas’s contract.

      As far as criminal behavior, there have been countless misdemeanors that have received only minor suspensions from the league, including a seven-game suspension for Stephen Jackson for firing a gun outside an Indianapolis strip club in 2006.

      A felony charge leaves no gray area. Nor is there much room for feelings. In the Wizards organization there is genuine concern for Gilbert Arenas the person, still a likable guy despite his horrendous decision, now facing the ultra-serious prospect of up to five years in prison. But if the case were to conclude with a guilty plea or felony conviction and a prison sentence it’s unimaginable that they would want to keep his salary cap-clogging contract on their books. There’s also a sense Stern will use this as a strong example of the penalties for violating his ban of guns on team property. One Wizards source has feared Stern’s punishment more than the court’s all along.

      The Wizards are in a tough spot. If they try to void his contract and fail, then they’re stuck with a player who is due to make more than $80 million over the next four years and knows that the team tried to get rid of him. If they do manage to void his contract, they’ll lose him with no compensation. At this point, Arenas is more than a hindrance than a help, and the Wizards would be far better off rebuilding from scratch (or building around Caron Butler).


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      NBA

      Rockets on the verge of moving T-Mac?

      January 12, 2010 /

      Via TrueHoop, Chris Broussard says that the Rockets think they can move Tracy McGrady before the trade deadline, and that the top two destinations are Washington and Chicago.

      Washington, which league executives believe is in cost-cutting mode after the Gilbert Arenas disaster, could have McGrady for a deal featuring Caron Butler and some expiring contracts, perhaps Mike Miller and Randy Foye.

      Chicago, which has definite interest in McGrady, also has the combination of young talent and expiring contracts the Rockets are looking for. There is a Bulls player Houston covets, but it’s not clear who that is. Since the Rockets surely realize that Derrick Rose won’t be traded, logic suggests it’s Joakim Noah.

      A package of Noah, Brad Miller and Jerome James (the latter two have expiring contracts) would work financially, but sources say the Bulls have no desire to part with Noah.

      I’m not sure why any team would covet McGrady at this point. He hasn’t scored double figures in a game in more than 11 months and there’s no guarantee that he’s going to get back to his old self. I certainly wouldn’t advise trading a healthy Caron Butler or Joakim Noah for him.

      The only upside is salary cap relief. If the Wizards just want to blow the team up, then this is one way to do it. McGrady’s deal is expiring, so whoever trades for him can really help their cap flexibility in the short term. But at this point, Butler is the Wizards’ best player and only has one year (at an affordable $10.5 million) left on his deal. Why trade him?

      Then again, who knows what’s going on in the mind of Ernie Grunfeld.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      TMZ: Police say Arenas/Crittenton standoff caught on tape

      January 7, 2010 /

      Sources have told TMZ that the Gilbert Arenas/Javaris Crittenton incident may have been caught on tape.

      We’re told the Washington Wizards have told D.C. cops they have locker room surveillance video but are having trouble downloading it. The Geek Squad — aka computer-savvy detectives — are going to the Wizards organization today to help.

      And get this — a source connected with the investigation tells TMZ the Wizards have been “over cooperative” with cops — as the source says, “almost as if they want Arenas to go down.”

      Why would the Wizards want to go down? Hmm. Maybe it’s the four years and $80 million remaining on his contract. If he gets into serious trouble with the law, the Wizards may be able to void his contract.

      Arenas’ contract would be nullified if convicted of a felony. Instead of having a team salary of $79 million, the Wizards would sit at a far more manageable $62 million, with their largest, long-term obligation magically off the books.

      Making matters worse (or maybe better, from the Wizards perspective), Arenas did not have a license for the guns (TMZ).

      SI.com has more on the possibility of voiding his contract.

      The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement clearly states that a contract can be voided if a player “at any time, fails, refuses, or neglects to conform his personal conduct to standards of good citizenship, good moral character (defined here to mean not engaging in acts of moral turpitude, whether or not such acts would constitute a crime), and good sportsmanship …” It could be argued that any criminal charges leveled against Arenas would constitute a failure in personal conduct.

      I’m a little torn on this issue. Part of me would like to see the Wizards suffer for signing a player coming off of an injury to such a bloated contract. But given his lack of remorse, Arenas should pay for what he did, and if that means the franchise can erase his deal from the books, then so be it.

      I like the guy’s quirkiness, but this is ridiculous.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      NBA suspends Agent Zero “indefinitely”

      January 6, 2010 /

      The NBA has suspended Gilbert Arenas indefinitely, per ESPN.

      NBA commissioner David Stern has indefinitely suspended Gilbert Arenas, saying the Washington Wizards guard is “not currently fit to take the court” for a game.

      A day after the former All-Star was photographed before a game in Philadelphia pointing his index fingers, as if they were guns, at his teammates, Stern warned in a statement on Wednesday that Arenas’ conduct will “ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse.”

      Because Arenas violated NBA rules by bringing guns into Washington’s locker room, Stern decided to punish Arenas now. He said the suspension begins immediately.

      “Although it is clear that the actions of Mr. Arenas will ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse, his ongoing conduct has led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game,” Stern said in the statement. “Accordingly, I am suspending Mr. Arenas indefinitely, without pay, effective immediately pending the completion of the investigation by the NBA.”

      It was only a matter of time before he was suspended. Stern was going to wait until the investigation was complete, but with Arenas running around making a mockery of his situation, the NBA had to act.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NBA

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