Arenas Agrees to Take Around $16 Million Less

One quote from Gilbert Arenas says it all: "What can I do for my family with $127 million that I can't do with $111 million?"
Arenas told me a little while ago that he has agreed to a six-year, $111 million contract. The Wiz had offered the maximum level contract, one that would have paid him between $125 to $127 million over six years. Arenas said he is willing to take less in order to help the Wizards have room to add key pieces over the next few seasons. The deal still has to be finalized once the league releases salary cap and luxury tax numbers next week but Arenas said his mind is made up.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/07/arenas_agrees_to_take_around_1.html

Now don't get me wrong 16M is 16M and you can't really fault a guy who gives up 16M no matter how much he makes. But what can you do for your family with 111 Million that you can't do with 60 or 80 M (wunless you are Spreewell in which case its proven you can't feed your family on less than 100M) It sounds like a lot of money to mortals but in the scheme of a 6 year contract it really doesn't mean much to an NBA team.

1. They are over the cap this year and Next for sure with his contac t and Jamison's.  So basically the only effect giving that $ up could have for the next two years is MAYBE keeping them under the Luxury tax and thefore be more willing to sign a player using the MLE.

2. He's still going to make 20m a year plus for the last 3 year of his contract. Its still 1/3 of the cap. I hadley see how making 21 M instead of 23 -24 Million 4 seasons from now is going to be the turning point in the franchise winning a championship.

I am not faulting him for taking the $ he's offered no way. Someone offers 100M you take it. But its a relativley cheap PR boost should things not work out in a year or two should he want to get out or be traded. "Hey I gave up 16M so you guys could put a championship team togehter. Now look at us. I'm not the bad guy here asking for a trade. I gacve up 16m$ for you guys"

If his real main concern was team flexibility he could have taken 3 years 40 M with an opt out so that in 2010/11 when 20m in junk (Dainels, Thomas Haywood) comes off the books they can have real fexibility to revamp the team and then resign him. He could have taken 80M in return for a player option on say the 3rd or 4th year so if things don't work out that he can leave instead of demanding a trade.

I can't blame guys from a business and security standpoint from taking a 6 year max length deal I just wish people would stop cloaking it as some kind of sacrifice or feeling bad for them becuase they are "locked into a bad situation" . There is choice being made by the player tyo give up his freedom for 6 years when he could have options but he chose the $ (in this case a little less $ than he could have had)

I kninda feel bad for Washington. They do need to keep these players who are willing to stay becuase they likley can't replace them easily  but the players they have almost certainly will never win anything important becuase they have a two key players on long expensive contracts Jamison and Gilbert who play no defense. These are the guys everyone is supposed to follow. You follow KG and you get a bunch of guys who play hard play defense and win championships. You follow Gilbert and you get a bunch of guys who chuck bad shots and don't play defense.

Plus his injury scares the heck out of me. A 6 3 gaurd who really doesn't pass and depends on his quickness to score with a serious knee injury for 6 years and 100M plus. Yikes

I'm not going to knock Arenas for taking something below top dollar, but ain't it a wonderful world where you can come off as a caring altruistic guy for "settling" for $18.5 million a year?

I'm sort of in agreement with what someone on ESPN.com wrote (I forget who).  Washington is a .500 team and has all their money locked into three guys who are pretty much in their prime and not likely to improve much more.  They will only have the MLE to add guys around them the next few years, and their draft picks aren't that stunning.  So how are they going to improve and become championship contenders?  It might have been better to let Arenas go to Golden State, and use the money that would be freed up to add multiple pieces around Butler and Jamison.

I wrote/thought the same thing as the ESPN guy (before I read it).

I actually like Jamison as he's a pro but he's 32 now he's on the decline and he is what he is. A 3 point shooting, post up SF who's a pretty decent rebounder. He's not a PF, he doesn't rebound like one he doesn't defend  and they already have an All Star Caliber SF in Butler who's younger, better and cheaper.

Its not like the Wiz have had great success derailed only by injury that you MUST keep these guys together. They are a high volume shooting team that doesn't pass or defend. How many games can they win? Who will you add with the MLE that will change them into anything different. Do people honestly expect Jamison and Arenas to change?

They just guaranteed mediocrity at best for the foreseeable future and total suckdom should Arenas not recover well from his injury.

Toolatecrew:

Arenas Agrees to Take Around $16 Million Less

One quote from Gilbert Arenas says it all: "What can I do for my family with $127 million that I can't do with $111 million?"

Its a good point.  I ask myself the same question all the time and can't really come up with an answer. 

Toolatecrew:

I actually like Jamison as he's a pro but he's 32 now he's on the decline and he is what he is. A 3 point shooting, post up SF who's a pretty decent rebounder. He's not a PF, he doesn't rebound like one he doesn't defend  and they already have an All Star Caliber SF in Butler who's younger, better and cheaper.

Its not like the Wiz have had great success derailed only by injury that you MUST keep these guys together. They are a high volume shooting team that doesn't pass or defend. How many games can they win? Who will you add with the MLE that will change them into anything different. Do people honestly expect Jamison and Arenas to change?

They just guaranteed mediocrity at best for the foreseeable future and total suckdom should Arenas not recover well from his injury.

Isn't he one of the better rebounders in the league? His numbers seemed solid enough, and he out rebounded opposing PF's.

greenteam:

I'm sort of in agreement with what someone on ESPN.com wrote (I forget who).  Washington is a .500 team and has all their money locked into three guys who are pretty much in their prime and not likely to improve much more.  They will only have the MLE to add guys around them the next few years, and their draft picks aren't that stunning.  So how are they going to improve and become championship contenders?  It might have been better to let Arenas go to Golden State, and use the money that would be freed up to add multiple pieces around Butler and Jamison.

 So Jamison is better to build around than Arenas? I don't know, I think people underestimate how hard it is to attract top free agents. If I'm an Elton Brand or Baron Davis I'm not going to salivate at the prospect of playing with Butler, Jamison, and Haywood. Brand and Josh Smith probably wouldn't have considered the team at all if Jamison was re-inked.

So lets say the Wizards let Jamison AND Arenas walk... their cap would have been at about $41 mill, so they could have signed maybe a max contract and a guy like Duhon or JR SMith. Is Brand or Josh SMith going to take the same amount of money to play with Caron Butler when they could play with Andre Miller, Iggy, and Dalembert? Caron Butler over Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, and Kaman? Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, and Bidrens? I don't think so.

Who are these multiple pieces? JR Smith and Chris Duhon? Okafor? Monta Ellis (and watch the Warriors just match?) Trade for Hinrich's salary? Wait for LeBron/Carmelo and try to convince them they have better futures than teams like Brooklyn?

If things don't work out for the Wizards next season (not top 4 in East), I will be interested to see if they try to move Arenas.

Hawks, Knicks, and Cavs might be willing to give up pure ending deals + decent prospects. If they like the free agents for next season, that might be an option. 

The whole concept of "multiple pieces" means getting mid-salary players to fill roles and not getting another max salary player, so guys like Brand, Baron Davis, Carmelo, and LeBron are irrelevant.  Yeah, they could have made an even bigger splash by letting Jamison go, too.  I was keeping my discussion to Arenas and not getting into Jamison.  (And yes, Jamison's rebounding last year was the best of his career.)

The Wiz played as well this season with Arenas out as they did with him in previous years.  The guys whose injuries hurt them this year were Butler and Antonio Daniels.  When those two guys were hurt, the Wiz lost.  When they played, the Wizards did fine.  So if Arenas' presence doesn't really make a difference, will the team be better by paying him several more million a year?  The Wiz now are maxed out for years to come for a trio of players who have historically not given them much more than a .500 record.  They don't have money to fill in the remaining holes, they don't have the cachet to get free agents to sign at a discount, they don't tend to make high impact draft picks, so how exactly do they get better?  If what you're doing can't make your team a contender, then you should try doing something else.  All the Wiz fans have to look forward to is several years of .500 ball and the hope of reaching the second playoff round some years.

Etan Thomas is a non-factor -- he's healthy one year out of three, can't coexist with Haywood, and has never been more than a solid backup center.

I think you're right.  Signing Arenas only means they will inevitably have to trade Arenas.  Maybe that's a better option than letting him go as a free agent, they may have more players to choose from in making a trade.  But it means going another year or two before they make the move we know they will have to make anyway.

HellaSilly:

Toolatecrew:

I actually like Jamison as he's a pro but he's 32 now he's on the decline and he is what he is. A 3 point shooting, post up SF who's a pretty decent rebounder. He's not a PF, he doesn't rebound like one he doesn't defend  and they already have an All Star Caliber SF in Butler who's younger, better and cheaper.

Its not like the Wiz have had great success derailed only by injury that you MUST keep these guys together. They are a high volume shooting team that doesn't pass or defend. How many games can they win? Who will you add with the MLE that will change them into anything different. Do people honestly expect Jamison and Arenas to change?

They just guaranteed mediocrity at best for the foreseeable future and total suckdom should Arenas not recover well from his injury.

 

 

Isn't he one of the better rebounders in the league? His numbers seemed solid enough, and he out rebounded opposing PF's.

 

With Etan Thomas back?? (I think he's back) the team should be tougher, and pretty strong on the boards. I understand them thinking they have a chance at competing if they can stay healthy, and if Arenas can get back to where he was being compared with guys like Kobe, but still... I agree. They don't exactly have a core that I would have been happy to commit as much money as they did.

 

He's a career 8 rpg guy. Last year was the first he's ever broken double figures. WHat do you think he'll do next year? Waht he's done for 9 season or what he's done for 1.

He's a PF who shoots 44% from the floor and allows opposing PFs to shoot over 50%.

He's basically out there to outscore his man which is fine except so is Butler who allows opposing Sfs to shoot an EFG% of 55% and Areanas who allowed opposing PGs to have an Effective FG% of 52%.

They are all sieves

greenteam:

The whole concept of "multiple pieces" means getting mid-salary players to fill roles and not getting another max salary player, so guys like Brand, Baron Davis, Carmelo, and LeBron are irrelevant.  Yeah, they could have made an even bigger splash by letting Jamison go, too.  I was keeping my discussion to Arenas and not getting into Jamison.  (And yes, Jamison's rebounding last year was the best of his career.)

Oh ok, I gotcha. I guess I just don't get the point. JR Smith/Pietrus and Duhon probably would have been the best available options for such an idea. Even getting just those two and Jamison would bring them over the cap though, so I don't get how they're going to improve w/out some real good trades.   

The Wiz played as well this season with Arenas out as they did with him in previous years.  The guys whose injuries hurt them this year were Butler and Antonio Daniels.  When those two guys were hurt, the Wiz lost.  When they played, the Wizards did fine.  So if Arenas' presence doesn't really make a difference, will the team be better by paying him several more million a year?  The Wiz now are maxed out for years to come for a trio of players who have historically not given them much more than a .500 record.  They don't have money to fill in the remaining holes, they don't have the cachet to get free agents to sign at a discount, they don't tend to make high impact draft picks, so how exactly do they get better?  If what you're doing can't make your team a contender, then you should try doing something else.  All the Wiz fans have to look forward to is several years of .500 ball and the hope of reaching the second playoff round some years.

That's pretty tough to judge imo. They were what, 3-5 when he went out with an injury? Indiana was on fire to start the season, and ORlando, Denver, and Boston weren't easy opponents. When he's on his game he's one of the premier scorers in the game. I think as a GM you basically have to hope that the team can build some on-court chemistry and that the coach can learn to better make use of his talents.  

I think you're right.  Signing Arenas only means they will inevitably have to trade Arenas.  Maybe that's a better option than letting him go as a free agent, they may have more players to choose from in making a trade.  But it means going another year or two before they make the move we know they will have to make anyway.

Yeah, even if they settle for a Pau Gasol type steal with them getting very little back, I really think they'll be possibly better off. Pull off a deal early, and there's a good chance the team won't even make the playoffs - so at least they'll be left with a decent draft pick + money to start building the team properly next season. I wouldn't be too excited about any of the mid-salary players available this season.   

Toolatecrew:

Its not like the Wiz have had great success derailed only by injury that you MUST keep these guys together. They are a high volume shooting team that doesn't pass or defend. How many games can they win? Who will you add with the MLE that will change them into anything different. Do people honestly expect Jamison and Arenas to change?

They just guaranteed mediocrity at best for the foreseeable future and total suckdom should Arenas not recover well from his injury.

I wouldn't say they have had great success derailed by injury but injuries have greatly limited any success they could have had with this group.  Last season alone Arenas missed 69 games and Butler 24 and the year before they suffered key injuries going into the playoffs.  If they can keep their big 3 healthy they could make a decent run in the East and maybe win their division.  I don't think they will be good enough to go to the Finals but then again 28 teams won't be good enough to go to the Finals in any given year I don't think they should all give up trying.

I guess he isn't worried about how to feed his family like poor Latrell Sprewell 

Now this is impressive. A guy who started and played well for a West playoff team, could probably get more somewhere else (don't know exactly, but he played better than the league minumum that is for sure):

Carter Likely To Accept Nuggets Offer

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Jul 06, 2008 7:00 PM EST

Anthony Carter is expected to accept a contract offer from the Nuggets worth the NBA minimum, according to The Rocky Mountain News.

The deal is reportedly worth $1.262 million, and Carter said that "chances are very, very high" he will accept the contract on Wednesday.

The offer was made on Saturday, and Carter played for the league minimum last season. Denver vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien extended the offer.

"He just said that, with their salaries, they don’t have much to spend," Carter said of the Nuggets. "He was straight up with me."

Via The Rocky Mountain News

Adelman:

Now this is impressive. A guy who started and played well for a West playoff team, could probably get more somewhere else (don't know exactly, but he played better than the league minumum that is for sure):

 

Carter Likely To Accept Nuggets Offer

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Jul 06, 2008 7:00 PM EST

Anthony Carter is expected to accept a contract offer from the Nuggets worth the NBA minimum, according to The Rocky Mountain News.

The deal is reportedly worth $1.262 million, and Carter said that "chances are very, very high" he will accept the contract on Wednesday.

The offer was made on Saturday, and Carter played for the league minimum last season. Denver vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien extended the offer.

"He just said that, with their salaries, they don’t have much to spend," Carter said of the Nuggets. "He was straight up with me."

Via The Rocky Mountain News