<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>On his NBA.com blog, on a day when Washington is enraptured with the other Wizards, injured star Gilbert Arenas writes: I want to get a six-year deal. I want to be a max player. If my team decides that they don't want me here any more and they're going to go in a different direction, then I got to look elsewhere. For me to look elsewhere, I want to go find a championship team who's a championship contender. I'm going to have to take less money, but I'm willing to do that to win a ring. If my team doesn't want me, then I'm going to another team and I'm going to take less money to go there. I'm sure he doesn't mean it this way, and maybe we'll have a clarification soon, but it seems like Arenas is saying that he'd play for passion, and to win in some other city. But if he has to play with these scrubs in D.C. ... Meanwhile, "those scrubs" just beat the Celtics twice in a row. And, looking at it from the other side, if you had a championship quality team, would you use your mid-level exception on a guy who dominates the ball? Having Gilbert Arenas on the floor re-orients the stars in your offense. (If you're Cleveland, I think the answer is yes. But San Antonio? Phoenix? Dallas? You can love Arenas from here to the moon, and still swallow hard before noodling with your roster in that particular way -- especially when you consider that he's little, not a great defender, and injury prone.) More than anything, this might be an example of why players angling for maximum deals should probably have agents manage the process. It would be smart to avoid even the slightest chance of needlessly pissing off the only good team on the planet that can afford to give you big money.</div> Source: TrueHoop
That makes no sense. He wants the max, but only from Washington. Otherwise he's willing to take a pay cut to join a winning team. Why not just take a paycut to help the Wizards build a winner? They've clearly shown they've got some talent in his absence.
This isn't too far removed from his blog saying Luol Deng and Ben Gordon should have taken the deals offered to them and not wait to get bigger deals.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Chutney @ Jan 16 2008, 01:43 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>That makes no sense. He wants the max, but only from Washington. Otherwise he's willing to take a pay cut to join a winning team. Why not just take a paycut to help the Wizards build a winner? They've clearly shown they've got some talent in his absence.</div> Exactly. I'm not sure if he intentionally meant to insult his team, but this is a back-handed slap to the Wizards teammates and organization.
