The banter between Gilbert Arenas and Nick Young ahead of their first NBA game as opponents has been fierce but friendly.
But Arenas’ relationship with Washington, where he will return Friday for the first time since a trade to the Orlando Magic in December, is far more complicated.
“He’s said there’s going to be somebody out there trying to get 30 [points] and somebody out there trying to get six fouls,” Young said. “We just can’t let him get in our heads.”
| Up next |
| Magic at Wizards |
| When » Friday, 7 p.m. |
| Where » Verizon Center |
| TV » Comcast SportsNet |
| » Wizards center JaVale McGee left Thursday’s practice early with a toe injury and is uncertain for Friday. |
But the former Agent Zero hasn’t been gone nearly long enough to be forgotten, for the hibachi and glorious game-winners from 35 feet, for his endless battle back from a knee injury or for the disintegration of his reputation and the Wizards’ season with last year’s locker room gun incident.
“At some point I hope they can forgive me as a person,” Arenas said Thursday in an interview on 106.7 FM. “Maybe not as a basketball player. Maybe I wasn’t worth the contract. Hey, I don’t think anyone’s worth $100 million if Michael Jordan wasn’t. But hey, that’s what [late Wizards owner] Abe Pollin thought I was worth, and if someone put $100 million in front of you, you’re gonna take it, too.”
The long-expected and quickly executed swap in December also gave Arenas a chance to make a potentially deep playoff run with the Magic (31-18), while Rashard Lewis was given the unenviable task of joining the Wizards (13-35), who are determined to chart a rebuilding course but still seem rudderless.
Since Arenas’ departure, the Wizards’ locker room is more settled, and Young has averaged 20.9 points since taking over the former All-Star’s minutes. But Washington hasn’t been any better on the court, going 7-17 since the trade after a 6-18 start. That’s as much a reason as any for the Verizon Center crowd to greet him with boos, something Arenas said would disappoint him if it didn’t happen. Either way, Arenas likely still will be the same in his return as he has been since his arrival in 2003: an irresistible presence and a lightning rod for controversy.
“No matter what’s going to happen,” Wizards coach Flip Saunders said, “he will look back on his career — I’ll say the same thing I said to Stephon Marbury when he left Minnesota — he’s going to look back on his career, and he’s going to know that the best times he ever had was when he was here in Washington.”
