Hope At Last

I'd been getting depressed about the Wizards' prospects for next season. The center of the team is Agent Zero, Professor of Gilbertology who, by all accounts, requires a steady diet of perceived slights in order to motivate himself. Recently, though, the slights hadn't been coming. After being snubbed for the All-Star Game, he wound up as David Stern's replacement for the injured Jermaine O'Neal. Then came the playoffs where I kept hearing national television commentators describing him as "underrated" and explaining to the fans that he, like LeBron James, is one of the best young players in the league. Then he's named to the Third Team All-NBA and selected for the Team USA roster where he wound up not making the final cut allegedly due to injury. All-in-all, Arenas was at risk of getting too fat, happy, and satisfied. But now he's bringing the bitterness:

"No joke, I felt like I was the 16th man on a 15-man roster," Arenas said. "You are there to support your team and support your country and be happy to play but you know, I did everything they wanted me to do; but if I did everything they wanted me to do, why am I on the bubble of getting cut? I sacrificed. You've got LeBron being LeBron. You've got Carmelo being Carmelo. You've got D-Wade being D-Wade. Why can't I be me? Why do I have to transform? I did that and now you are going to cut me?"

Right on! Fuck those guys. Let Gilbert be Gilbert! Yes, of course, it's true that there was nothing actually unfair about this, but as long as Gilbert feels it was unfair we're on solid ground. His apparent good attitude about being asked to transform himself into either a traditional point guard or a spot-up shooter (again, the right things to ask of him as a member of Team USA) was indicative of a distressing lack of egomania. Now we're in good shape. Indeed, if I believed for a minute that Darius Songaila was going to add "toughness" to the team (that's what the front office wants us to believe), I'd be downright optimistic.

Comments

The Wizards need Kevin Garnett. Anything short of that and they're not going any further in the playoffs.

Posted by eriks | August 31, 2006 12:19 PM

I wouldn't slag Songalia until you watch him over a whole season. Skiles loved him in Chi-town and Skiles doesn't love softies. He hustles every night, is a solid rebounder, has a decent post game, hits open jumpers within 18 feet, and can even knock down some threes. (Indeed, he won at least one game for the Bulls last year at the buzzer from behind-the-arc.) Overall, a nice complementary player.

Posted by Brian Cook | August 31, 2006 12:46 PM

Dude, change the font.

Posted by william | August 31, 2006 1:02 PM

William is right - this font is god awful. I'm going to have trouble reading this site if you don't change it.

If you look at what Grunfeld did with the Bucs, it's almost the exact same thing. Ernie will always but a good product out, but they've never quite elite status. I suppose you could make the argument that the Knicks under Grunfeld were elite, but I think New York is a special situation.

Posted by Jason | August 31, 2006 2:18 PM

Right justifying your postings is the most obvious thing causing problems with the font. The comments aren't right justified, so they aren't as bad looking (although they still aren't that good).

Posted by Steve Sailer | August 31, 2006 2:37 PM

i, too, hate the font. as for the wiz, be thankful they're at least playoff players who may not get very far (rather than the years of dreck preceding this renaissance).

Posted by dj superflat | August 31, 2006 2:43 PM

I signed up for the nonsports feed. what gives?

Posted by chris | August 31, 2006 4:00 PM

To follow on Sailer and the various people who have not liked the font, the "Tron"-style banner at the top is not working for me; it looks like one of those Japanese things (stereograms?) that you're supposed to stare at until you see some 3-D image.

I suppose you could make the argument that the Knicks under Grunfeld were elite

You could, but you'd be wrong.

Posted by SomeCallMeTim | August 31, 2006 4:06 PM

Also, the ad on the left is boring. Can you get Pajiba to advertise here? :-)

Posted by Al | August 31, 2006 5:18 PM

Arenas has talent, no doubt, but a bit too much of the chip-on-the-shoulder mentality which overwhelms the killer instinct needed to carry the team past the first round of playoffs.

Case in point: he threw away the Wizard’s chances last season by missing two critical free throws, ostensibly becoming unnerved by trash talk from LeBron. That’s not the stuff of which champions are made.

Butler has done a good job for them in the absence of Hughes, but Grunfeld made a big mistake in dropping Hughes. Besides, whatever the strength of the Butler/Arenas/Jamison trio, offense by itself can’t go very far. Until the Wiz beef up their defensive end, they’ll never get out of the rut they’re in.

Posted by the green lantern | August 31, 2006 11:58 PM