Arenas Suspension a Blessing in Disguise for Wizards

Gilbert Arenas is undoubtedly one of the most talented and productive players the NBA has seen since he entered the NBA. He briefly instilled hope into the Golden State Warriors franchise during his final season there and has helped revitalize the Washington Wizards franchise. In addition, Arenas, a former second-round pick, has had an all-star caliber career in terms of stats, averaging 22.7 points, 5.6 assists, and 1.72 steals in eight years of action.

However, despite all of his accolades and three all-star selections, he has never been worth that six-year $111 million contract the Wizards signed him to following the 2007-08 season. To make matters worse, the Wizards signed him to a contract the year after he missed the majority of the season with severe knee injuries. Furthermore, Arenas has always been one of the most outspoken and egocentric players to play in the NBA.

First, the Wizards should have never given Arenas a contract the year after he essentially missed an entire season with severe knee problems. During his contract year, he missed 66 total games after undergoing multiple surgical knee operations. After his first surgery, Arenas never completely healed, as he overworked his knee during rehabilitation. Following his second surgery, he returned for the final 13 games of the Wizards season, but had to shut himself down for the playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, which the Wizards wound up losing 4-2. Knee injuries are devastating, and the overwhelming majority of athletes who sustain these types of problems are unable to return to full strength.

Next, the Wizards did a phenomenal job of playing without Arenas during the 2007-08 season, as they accomplished a 43-39 overall record, with a 36-33 record without Arenas. This team was able to garner the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs that year, before falling in an extremely competitive six game series against the Cavaliers, while playing the majority of that series sans the star guard. Without Arenas, the Wizards distributed the ball tremendously, as they had a balanced scoring attack, with Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, and DeShawn Stevenson all averaging double-figure points per game.

While Arenas is an extremely prolific scorer and gifted athlete, he often dominated possession of the ball, so he would never concentrate on creating scoring opportunities for his teammates. He is a player who needs the ball in his hands to be successful, so both Butler and Jamison average a combined eight fewer points per game when Arenas plays alongside them. Butler and Jamison are two of the most underrated players in the NBA, as they can play both with the ball and without the ball in their hands. Arenas, unfortunately, failed to take advantage of their presence, along with help from Haywood and Etan Thomas in the interior, due largely to his inability to create for his teammates. For players who deserve to make the amount of money Arenas received, they must be able to both create for themselves and make their teammates better, which will in turn lead to consistent playoff success. In his career, Arenas has only made three playoffs while only winning one playoff series.

After signing his monstrous contract, Arenas has been a tremendous disappointment, as he only played in a paltry 2 games in the 2008-09 season, which was the first year of his contract, and they finished with a conference-worst 19-63 record. His knee has never really recovered, and Arenas’ monstrous contract has hindered the team from signing other quality players to play alongside Arenas. This team is often overmatched in the front line, with no true developed post player, and Jamison and Butler have both been injury-prone ever since Arenas signed the contract.

Even this season, with Arenas and his teammates fully healthy, the Wizards jumped to an extremely disappointing 11-21 record in the 32 games Arenas played in. He never brought any kind of defensive intensity or mindset to the team, as the Wizards have allowed an average of 102.4 points per game.

Ever since they signed Arenas to the long-term contract, the Wizards have done everything they could to make Arenas happy and record his stats. Now that he received a vicious, indefinite suspension by the NBA, the Wizards will unquestionably be allowed to void his contract and finally establish an identity as a team. They will finally have the cap room to sign players that fit into their system; more importantly, they will finally be able to play as a cooperative, coherent team without the contagious presence of Arenas.