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That's it, I am officially done with Gilbert Arenas. The fake injury is my breaking point. I'm moving on. I'm not saying they need to trade him or even that I want that, I'm just ending my emotional investment in his success. So far, Gilbert Arenas' career with the Wizards has been just like a really, really bad relationship, and I want to move on.
After Gilbert Arenas' second season with the Wizards (the one where he and Larry Hughes were the best back court in the NBA briefly) I was ready to consider him among the elite players in the NBA. I bought in. And it felt good the next season when he threw up 29 per. When he was hitting all those game-winning threes; that was the honeymoon phase.
People will identify his injuries as one of the reasons his time in Washington has been rough lately, but I'm not ready to blame a guy for his own ailments. The truth is Gilbert just started acting kind of crazy. I don't have enough space in this column to list all the workplace shenanigans/locker room blowups/coach confrontations he has taken part in during his time here. Then came the gun thing and I swore I'd never care about Gil again.
But that suspension gave me just what I needed as a fan; time away from Gil to remember all the good things he did while watching Earl Boykins play point guard and thinking, "this is the alternative?" When he came back this year, I was ready to accept him again. I think the beard was most of the reason why, but I was still ready to welcome him back into my heart. Now he has to go and lie about his injury status.
Is this most recent offense a huge deal? No, I don't think it really is during the preseason. But for some reason his apology this time sounded more like, "Come on baby, the last time? I swear that was the last time," than it it ever had before. I'm more sure now than ever that Gilbert Arenas won't change. His offenses might not be as disruptive as the gun thing ever again, but he will never stop being the center of some sort of distraction.
He is still going to be on the Wizards and he might even have some very good games; but gone are the days that I look for his name first when I read the box score. I'm ready to see other point guards.
Today's must-reads from around the SB Nation network:
- Clinton Portis has expressed interest in passing John Riggins as the Redskins' leading rusher. The guys at Hogs Haven think about whether they want that to happen or not.
- Japers' Rink has a recap of, and reaction to, the Caps' 2-1 win over the Islanders last night.
- Black and Red United is wondering why there isn't more fanfare about Jaime Moreno's final match with D.C. United.
On tap today on SB Nation D.C.: Jake Whitacre lists the players who might become the next big college stars in the D.C. area. Mike Prada thinks the Yi Jianlian could be a diamond in the rough for the Wizards.
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