With 15 losses in a row and 10 games remaining, the Washington Wizards might not win again this season, and that means it’s time to talk about next season. Not that anyone has wanted to talk about this year since, oh, December.
And if the Wizards are going to talk about next season, they’ve got to talk about Gilbert Arenas.
“We’re not going to void his contract,” confirmed Wizards president of basketball operations Ernie Grunfeld, who himself may not have as much job security. “As I’ve said all along, he’s going to be with us.”
And with Arenas spared a prison sentence for his gun possession conviction last week, it’s as if a taboo has been rescinded in the Wizards’ locker room. Players are starting to talk about what it will be like to have their star point guard back on the court.
“I think his attitude is positive,” Andray Blatche said. “He wants to get back to his guys, even when I talked to him. I think it’s going to be a great start for us next season.”
But for now, Washington is an absolutely ravaged team thanks to Arenas’ suspension, a bevy of trades and an endless string of injuries that recently claimed Al Thornton and Randy Foye. But the Wizards are surprisingly confident that they remain one or two pieces from transforming back into a night-in, night-out contender.
“If we get Josh [Howard] and Gil back and we get, like, a big man banger, defender, we’ll be a great team,” Blatche said.
Slow down, Andray; we’ve tired of the predicted greatness of the Wizards. So the words “great” and “Wizards” will not be uttered in the same sentence anytime soon. Some players still confuse talent with knowing how to win.
But how about Utah forward Carlos Boozer, who will be a free agent this summer? After he and the Jazz beat up on the Wizards on Saturday, Boozer was asked whether the Arenas saga had soured players on potentially coming to Washington this offseason.
“First, I’m happy for Gil not getting any jail time,” Boozer said. “I’m happy for him. That [would have been] a tough thing for anybody, so I’m happy he at least got a chance to be out in the open, not to go to jail, No. 1. No. 2, D.C. is a great environment. They got talent. They got a pretty good organization, and I’m sure they’ll get somebody this summer.”
