The Washington Wizards wish they’ll get off as easily as Gilbert Arenas from the biggest local debacle since Richard Nixon swore he wasn’t a crook.
Arenas received a relatively light sentence on Friday for carrying a gun without a permit on Dec. 21 during a locker room prank with teammates Javaris Crittenton.
Superior Court Judge Robert E. Morin ordered Arenas to spend 30 days in a halfway house, perform 400 hours of community service, pay $5,000 to a victims of violence fund and serve two years probation. He was also given an 18-month suspended sentence.
Translation: Arenas likely will spend 18 days watching TV in a halfway house and a lot of spare time talking to youth groups. He didn’t get off completely, but prosecutors wanted three months imprisonment so it was a fair middle ground.
Prison wouldn’t have done Arenas any good. If he hasn’t learned the error of his actions by now, sitting in a jail cell wouldn’t do anything but make him feel overly penalized. Either Arenas gets it by now or he never will.
Now comes the harder part — what are the Wizards to do with the person who has single-handily ruined the franchise?
The answer is simple: Arenas must go.
Fortunately, Ted Leonsis’ negotiations to buy the team are nearly complete, which finally will give the Wiz an owner to decide Arenas’ fate. No more internal buck passing without accountability.
Leonsis is a compassionate person, but also a businessman. He should meet with Arenas, look into his troubled player’s soul and see if there’s any way Agent Zero is truly ready for redemption. That’s asking a lot.
Most likely, both sides need new starts. The Wiz will have a hard time convincing ticket holders to pay thousands of dollars to watch a third straight awful season featuring the knucklehead with a bad knee who causes trouble. Leonsis knows after rebuilding the Capitals from worst to first that it’s an easier sell to simply start from the beginning. Fans will rally behind a young team, but not one centered around a troubled star.
Arenas would benefit from a new city where people mostly think he’s some player with a gun conviction stemming from one stupid moment. Arenas can charm the local media and fans because he’s a fundamentally good person. Arenas will move on as the star of a new team. However, he’ll never gain such acceptance in Washington.
The big problem is the contract. The Wiz still owe Arenas $80 million of an $111 million deal. Given Arenas will be available for next season, it seems increasingly improbable the team can void the deal. He’s also untradeable given the bad knee and off-court troubles.
That leaves a buyout. It seems wrong to take the person responsible for all this trouble and pay him to go away. And we’re not talking about a small number that will still count against the salary cap to prevent signing another star player. However, Arenas won’t readily leave millions of dollars behind given the recent suspension cost him $7 million plus an estimated $50 million in endorsements.
Still, there has to be a middle number both sides can afford. Arenas will eventually recoup some of the loss by playing elsewhere. He should accept losing millions as the price for his failure and freedom.
The Wiz need several years to rebuild. The stink of this mess will only lessen if Arenas leaves. Otherwise, fans may forget, but won’t easily forgive the team.
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