The Wizards could be a mirror team of the Warriors with former Warrior Gilbert Arenas getting into gun trouble. This sounds so much like the troubles that former Warrior Stephen Jackson had with his gun incident. It would be a safe bet on Gilbert getting traded after this is all weeded out. I don't think he'll do jail time because he can afford a top attorney, but the law could come down hard on him and he ends up in jail. It could be harsher penalties because this happened in DC. Then there is the NBA and what punishment Stern will mete out. It's only a coincidence that the Wizards changed their name from the Bullets and I'd like to see Don Nelson coaching the Wizards and we get Flip Saunders . An NBA investigation into Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas’(notes) possession of guns inside the team’s locker room has been linked to a confrontation with teammate Javaris Crittenton(notes), multiple sources told Yahoo! Sports. The league’s ongoing probe hopes to determine whether Arenas had accessed any of his unloaded firearms while engaged in the dispute prior to a team practice at the Verizon Center on Dec. 21 in Washington. Tensions between Arenas and Crittenton escalated because of a festering disagreement between the two players, sources said. Arenas told reporters on Tuesday the District of Columbia police also are investigating the circumstances under which he brought the guns to the arena. The D.C. police issued a statement on Wednesday saying they were assisting the U.S. Attorney’s Office in a joint investigation into “an allegation that weapons were located inside a locker room at the Verizon Center.” The statement did not name any individuals. The district has stringent gun laws that prohibit the carrying of weapons, openly or concealed. The NBA is expected to wait to see if the law enforcement agencies file charges before the league acts. NBA security has been working with the Wizards to investigate the matter. Team officials had immediately reported the incident to the league office, and have been cooperating with law enforcement authorities. Several league sources believe NBA commissioner David Stern ultimately will mete out stiff penalties in the matter. Both Arenas and Crittenton could be subject to suspensions and fines. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...slug=aw-arenasprobe123109&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
I thought this thread would get more comments. I guess this shows that Cohan was right about not nodding his head when it was time to give Gilbert Jay Arenas Jr. his extension? Cohan was right about one thing in his life. LOL.
I have this vision of Cohan at the Pearly gates. On the one hand, his list of sins - the size of several telephone books. On the other, a single scrap of paper - "I was right about Arenas." Slam dunk. They probably carry him in on a litter borne by naked virgins.
As far as the thread getting comments, Wizards and the Warriors have had similar situations for a while so I didn't really think about much else to say except that you could compare these two teams and find tons of similarities. Heck, you could draw parallels all the way back to the 70's when each team won a championship. Both teams are definitely built on paper to be really athletic with much less emphasis on a inside big man game. Anyway, I think while Arenas has always been a little on the crazy side, they're not gonna trade him away just because of this. This is probably the one shot where they might listen to offers. Cohan did mess up with Arenas, though. Alot of basketball players are hard to deal with, but all he had to do to keep Arenas was show a little more faith in him. This gun incident, while serious and unforgivable, is still not as disturbing as some of the things other players have done. Imagining if I was the owner or whatnot of the team he was on, I'd certainly be pissed and disappointed if he was on my team while they did it, but I'd also realize that this kind of crazy outburst was something I would have had to deal with, and I would have dealt with it.
As I understand it, the Warriors did want to keep Arenas, but were not able to match or exceed offers by other teams (they could only offer the mid-level exception), leading to what is now known as the Arenas Rule.
Well, I got ripped on this over the weekend by a friend and I had to agree. First, Cohan still has his record of not being right about anything. That's because he screwed up when he did not say anything and give assurances so that Arenas would re-sign to a one year deal. After the one year, then he would have had to offer a multi-year deal, but Arenas was a star on the rise. Second, Cohan "tried" to sign Arenas as a free agent after Rowell let Baron go. That offer was in excess of $110 million and subsequently Arenas had health problems and now the gun illegality. Thus, Cohan was wrong in the past and he was wrong again in the present. Jeez, the guy cannot win. I still think what Arenas did was wrong because he did not have a permit to have the guns there. Gilbert is making light of this, but he has serious legal entanglements. I would not be surprised if he served jail time, but that is up to the courts to decide. Regardless, I think the NBA will come down hard on him because there is no question he brought the guns there. Stephen Jackson served a seven game suspension (and he fired a gun), but this is considered worse because he brought it to his workplace and it was in DC. A suspension for the rest of the year would not be out of line. If it turns out that he did more with the weapons like brandishing it, then I think the punishment will be even more severe and his contract could be voided. He may be looking at facing mandatory and maximum jail time for a felony and the public nature of this case. I think he's treating this far too lightly and he'll probably have a different tone after talking with law enforcement today. He better hire a good attorney.
Given the Warriors' situation, I'm not sure whether to call the Gilbert non-signing luck or if Satan himself has had enough fun with us.
i made a twitter page for the sole purpose of following what athletes were saying...it's still kinda mumbo jumbo to me, but arenas just posted this: gilbertarenas RT @Tiiiip: @gilbertarenas #youneedyourassbeat if you leave the gs warriors if i'm correct, the user "Tiiiip" posted that "you need your ass beat if you leave the warriors" onto gilbert's page, and arenas chose to "retweet" what he said...interesting. i've heard him say several pro-warrior things in the past.
Yup, I saw that on his twitter. Actually, I saw it first on Kawakami. I would think Arenas liked Cali and his time with the Warriors and maybe he sees a taker for another $100 M+ contract in Cohan : 3-Gilbert Arenas on Gilbert: http://twitter.com/gilbertarenas I don’t know whether to laugh or cry reading his stream of Gilbert-ness after the alleged “OK Corral” episode and the resulting coverage. I don’t think he knows either. Fascinating. Bizarre. I like the guy, but he has always been fascinating and bizarre and he probably isn’t quite good enough any more to be worth all this money and all that weirdness. http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawaka...-preference-arenas-goes-into-space/#more-6953
Gilbert should have just kept quiet. Going along with the Wizards pose and saying Stern was "mean" was not very bright. Maybe he'll turn over a new leaf after this experience. We definitely do not need Gilbert Arenas anymore since we got Stephen Curry of high basketball IQ. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...=ap-wizards-arenassuspended&prov=ap&type=lgns
I believe in gun control. If you control a gun, you can welch your way to victory! Maybe Arenas believes he'll only get charged for 1 gun even though he had like 4. It's all the same item. right? Just like at the 10 items or less at the fast check out lane at a grocery store and you plop down 20 bottles of the same brand/size of juice.
I think Gilbert is going to get jail time. Why? It's because of his defense. First, instead of hiring a top-notch, no wait, even a decent lawyer right off the bat, he does not take what he did seriously and goes on Twitter. It keeps going until he ends up getting suspended for his pre-game shenanigans by The Commish. Next, he hires the lawyer that was recommended to him by the Wizards. Finally, he employs the "goof ball" defense in court -- I didn't know, I'm a goof ball." That's not going to fly with the judge. A decent lawyer would have gotten it reduced to a misdemeanor, not plead guilty to a felony. I am not arguing that carrying a gun without a license is not a felony, but there are extenuating circumstances. And the lawyer would have told Arenas to keep his mouth shut and let him do the talking. Here's what the prosecution is saying: Arenas’ attorney said Friday that prosecutors are likely to seek a sentence towards the lower end of sentencing guidelines, so Arenas isn’t likely to be imprisoned for more than six months. His prospects to return to the court this season continue to look grim. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=rotowire-ilbertrenasleadsuilt&prov=rotowire&type=fantasy Not only that, people are fed up, including myself, with athletes getting in trouble and getting special treatment. I do not feel sorry for Gilbert at all. He deserved what he gets and maybe he'll change his demeanor and be more responsible the next time. NBA’s Arenas pleads guilty to DC handgun charge By MATTHEW BARAKAT and HOWARD FENDRICH, Associated Press Writers WASHINGTON (AP)—Straight-faced and subdued, Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas(notes) pleaded guilty Friday to a felony gun charge connected to a locker-room argument, leaving his All-Star career in limbo and his freedom in doubt. Arenas won’t know whether he must serve jail time until his March 26 sentencing and remains free until then. The government indicated it will not seek more than six months, although the judge can give Arenas anywhere from probation to the charge’s maximum term of five years. Guidelines call for six to 12 months. Arenas did not speak to reporters on the way into D.C. Superior Court—only shaking his head when asked if he wanted to tell fans anything—or when he walked down the block to police headquarters after his 20-minute hearing. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-wizards-guns&prov=ap&type=lgns
