Just three days shy of the one-year anniversary of his infamous gun incident at Verizon Center, Gilbert Arenas’ rollercoaster tenure in Washington has ended.
Arenas was traded on Saturday to the Orlando Magic in exchange for forward Rashard Lewis. The move is intended to help strengthen the Magic’s pursuit of an Eastern Conference title but will be remembered as the long-anticipated exit for Arenas. The former All-Star’s career with the Wizards had plummeted in recent seasons due to injuries and then bottomed out with a 50-game suspension last year for the infamous altercation with former teammate Javaris Crittenton.
“The opportunity presented itself this week, and the opportunities don’t come along that often in the NBA,” said Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld, who added that the deal only came together in the last 3-4 days. “We looked at it, we studied it, and we felt like it was the right time to make the move in the best interest of our team, short-term and long-term.”
Grunfeld signed Arenas as a free agent in 2003, and the following year Arenas led the Wizards to the first of three straight playoff appearances. But Arenas then missed the better part of the next two years due to injury. He returned last season to a Wizards team that struggled mightily, and his future in Washington was always in question after his suspension and month-long stay in a halfway house last summer. Suspicion was fueled even more by the arrival of point guard John Wall, the first pick in the 2010 NBA Draft who immediately took over for Arenas as the face of the franchise.
“There’s no question, no one’s ever going to ask us whose team this is,” Wizards coach Flip Saudners said. “The critics thought that maybe Gil would hinder his development. That’s not going to be brought up any more.”
The difficultly in trading Arenas (17.3 points, 5.6 assists per game) was due to a hefty contract that pays him $17.7 million this season and more than $62 million the next three years. Lewis (12.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg) will earn $19.6 million this season, the second-most in the NBA, but although he’s due $43.8 million over the next two seasons, his shorter deal saves Washington more than $22 million in 2013-14.
In Orlando, Arenas will be reunited with general manager Otis Smith, who has been a close friend and mentor since the two were at Golden State. The Magic also completed a three-player swap that sent Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mikael Pietrus, a 2011 first-round draft pick and cash considerations to Phoenix in exchange for Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Earl Clark.
