Oh Gilbert, Gilbert, Gilbert. What do we do with you now. You had it all, a fat guaranteed contract (the Wizards owe over $80 million to Gilbert over the next 4 years), you played in the most cushy of professional sport leagues and you were the star of a team only two years removed from the playoffs (mainly missing the playoffs because Gilbert was hurt). How do you mess this up?
Well let's start from the beginning shall we? Our story starts on the Washington Wizard's plane back on December 21st, 2009. There was a friendly card game going on in the back of the plane that included various Wizards players, namely Gilbert Arenas and injured guard Javaris Crittenton. Apparently Gilbert and Javaris had a little disagreement over which player owed the other one money, or something like that. NBA players arguing over money, very surprising...
Even the holiday spirit couldn't cool off these two as they got into it again during their next practice a few days later. After all of this jolly cheer happened, it was back to normal for the players and the team. That is until Gilbert decided to take this up a notch and play a little joke on Crittenton.
We all know what happened next, Gilbert took out three of his guns that he decided to take into the Verizon Center (obviously not paying attention to these signs) and told Crittenton to "pick one". I'm not sure which one Crittenton picked but I'm sure he picked the smallest one, that's what I would do. Gilbert eventually got into a bit of trouble and then joked it off like it was nothing. Perhaps it was a joke and personally, I don't think it's thaaaat big of a deal that he joked with guns. It's not like they were loaded and he planned on shooting Crittenton, he is a NBA player but he's not that dumb (the same can't be said about Crittenton I guess).
So as we stand, Gilbert has plead guilty to the felony charge of carrying a pistol without a license and is suspended indefinitely for now and probably will be suspended for the entire season. Where does this place the Wizards? Well they were pretty shitty before this incident and they continue to be shitty after the incident. They will most likely overhaul the roster starting with forward Antawan Jamison (Cavs?) and the buttload of expiring contracts that they also possess (Mike Miller, Mike James, Brendan Heywood). And last but not least we have Gilbert. The Wizards (along with Adidas) have basically erased every trace of him from the Verizon Center starting with a large mural that used to be on the front of the arena and ending with removing all merchandise from their team stores.
Eventually (you'd have to think anyway) that the Wizards will void Arenas big contract and start fresh. The team most definitely has a good reason to void the contract and can at anytime if they view the player has failed to live up to their code as a player of the league. Usually a felony falls under the guidelines of termination.
What does Gilbert do from here? Well, he has a few options. First, he has to shut up and do whatever is asked of him from now until he gets out of jail (assuming he goes to jail). Second, once he gets back into the NBA he has to check his ego at the door when it comes to signing with a team. He won't be getting any offers for the max contract, something he had with the Wizards, and probably will only get a minimal year contract from a team that has nothing to lose because let's face it, Gilbert isn't the most popular guy in the NBA (I heard a story on ESPN about how once Gilbert took the tired off of a players car as a joke because the player rubbed him the wrong way).
Who could use Gilbert? There are plenty of teams out there that can use a guard that can score and play the point...
1) Milwaukee Bucks - They have Michael Redd (when his ACL and MCL are attached to his leg) but he has a player option for the 2010/2011 season for $18 million. Of course anyone would love to have an option to receive $18 million dollars in their pocket but my guess is that Redd will not be a Buck much longer. The question that remains here is if Gilbert and Brandon Jennings can play on the court at the same time since they are both point guards. Can Gilbert play the 2? Who knows.
2)New Jersey Nets - They need a lot of help everywhere and Gilbert is an improvement on whoever they will have on their roster next year. Could we see Gilbert and Lebron on the same team?
3) New York Knicks - Again, the Knicks need help at a lot of positions and adding Gilbert to run the point could be perfect for Dantoni's seven seconds or less offense. Can you imagine Gilbert running up and down the court, putting up 25 shots per game? Can he average 30 per game? Wouldn't that be something
4) Golden State Warriors - Perhaps a bit too far fetched as Gilbert played his first two years in San Fran and the relationship ended quickly. He would be perfect along side of Monta though.
5) Los Angeles Lakers - Dream situation for him and me personally. Derek Fisher isn't getting any younger and Jordan Farmar looks like a career backup. How stacked would the Lake Show be with a starting lineup of Gilbert, Kobe, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum with Lamar Odom as the 6th man? I've anyone can contain Gilbert I'd think it would be Phil Jackson and Kobe.
I could keep going but you get the idea. Gilbert will have options next year if he is wise but from what we have learned from him so far, he will probably demand a huge contract and eventually sign for a team that is not a good fit. I'm pulling for ya Hibachi.
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