Category — Gilbert Arenas

Gilbert Arenas can breathe a sign of relief. The suspended Washington Wizards’ guard was sentenced today to 30 days in a halfway house, two years supervised probation and 400 hours of community service for his role in a gun incident in December. He also was ordered to pay $5,000 to a fund for victims of violent crime.
Washington Post

Gilbert Arenas will learn Friday whether he gets probation or jail time, but prosecutors are seeking some time behind bars for the suspended Wizards’ star. Christopher R. Kavanaugh, an assistant U.S. attorney, wrote in a 61-page memo that Arenas should be jailed for three months for bringing guns into the Wizards’ locker room at the Verizon Center in late December. Kavanaugh obviously wants to make an example of a high-profile athlete such as Arenas, saying the NBA guard hasn’t shown any remorse.
Arenas’ biggest concern is what the judge decides when he is sentenced Friday. The judge isn’t bound by the prosecutors’ recommendations, but he could give Arenas probation or a three-month sentence. He also could Arenas up to five years.
In a recent interview, Arenas said he was concerned about jail time. Maybe that’s what pissed off the U.S. attorney.
Washington Post

Gilbert Arenas will learn his fate next week when he walks into a D.C. courtroom for sentencing on packing heat illegally, blatantly in the Wizards’ locker room. He isn’t worried about what awaits him. That might change as his court date draws near, particularly if the judge in the case makes an example out of him and gives him time. Naive? We’ll see.
He also is the focus of a piece in Esquire magazine, giving more details on how his spat with teammate Javaris Crittenton started and the nonsense that followed.
Esquire

Gilbert Arenas didn’t waste any time in an attempt to restore his image after being suspended for the rest of the season for a gun incident in the Wizards’ locker room. Arenas wrote an op-ed piece that will appear in tomorrow’s Washington Post. In it, the NBA guard said he’s more disappointed in himself for letting down kids.
It’s a start for Arenas though the piece reads like a release from a PR firm. But at least he’s starting to grasp how stupid and brainless his actions were.
Washington Post

As expected, the NBA suspended Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton for the rest of the season. This is the least of Areana’s worries. He has an upcoming sentencing date in March that will determine whether he’ll do time or not. We’d like to think he’ll receive probation, but one never knows with the criminal justice system, particularly if you’re an African American male. The tone of Judge Robert Morin has to make him nervous. Dude might want to make a name for himself by making an example of Arenas, then run for political office. You know the game.
Where Arenas’ playing career goes from here is anyone’s guess. The Wizards probably would have a difficult time voiding his contract and what NBA team in its right mind will trade for it? It’s not only the money and length (four years for $81 million), but injuries also have taken a toll on Agent 0 and reduced his worth.
A buyout by the Wizards seems likely, making Arenas a free agent this summer. But he’ll lose more money (the 50-game suspension will cost him more than $7 million) because he’s tainted goods and no club will come close to paying him what he’s making now. It’s an expensive lesson to say the least, but Arenas will bounce back.
SI.com

And the last man shooting in an NBA game frequently determines whether you win or lose on a bet.
If you believed some of the bullshit in the media, you’d believe that the Gilbert Arenas affair shows how lawlessness rains in the NBA. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is just one of those stories that portrays such notions and jumps to some major conclusions. NBA players gambling? Are you kidding me? Name any sport where players don’t gamble. It isn’t confined to the NBA. Plus, last time I checked, it was legal to gamble. And the last time I checked, NBA players, unlike a referee or two or three, haven’t been under any scrutiny for fixing games. Furthermore, unlike some tennis players, I don’t recall any NBA players tanking games.
N.Y. Times

He’s surely Agent Zero now. And he’ll have plenty of type (and time) to blog like the rest of us saps. Or does the NBA censor his blog? Freedom of speech isn’t always allowed in the league.
The NBA suspended Gilbert Arenas today as federal authorities continue to investigate his role in a gun incident in December between he and teammate Javaris Crittenton inside the team’s locker room. Arenas, who has been as insensitive as anyone could have imagined, frequently joking about it, didn’t help himself either last night when he foolishly cocked his fingers and pretended to shoot his teammates in a huddle during the Wizards’ victory at Philly. I imagine David Stern saw that and said WTF? Even better, I wonder what AI thought? Maybe Gilbert’s sense of humor is a bit more warped than many of us, but you’d think by now he’d grasp the magnitude of his actions and how clueless he’s appeared from the start. Oh no. 
The quirky guard probably played his last game in a Wizards’ uniform since management will look to rip up his contract and save the franchise millions. Arenas won’t be in an NBA uniform for the rest of the season. Yep, that’s really going out on a limb.

N.Y. Times

While we wait for the other shoe to drop in this crazy matter, Gilbert Arenas admitted to using “bad judgment” after the Wizards’ loss to the Spurs tonight. But that bad judgment has him in some serious hot water and most likely his ticket out of D.C. There is no way he stays. But what team would gamble on him with the huge contract and baggage the quirky Arenas brings? Or does he get the same cold shoulder AI got from league teams before Philly picked him up? And who really needs him? Before any of that is addressed, Agent Zero must address with authorities what the hell went on with him and teammate Javaris Crittenton. Arenas is scheduled to meet them Monday. And then there’s the possibility of a lengthy suspension by the NBA. The league will surely take a hard line when facts emerge. Writer Mike Jones give some great insight into what led up to the incident and other aspects of this insane story.
P.S. Laker fans know Crittenton well. Drafted by the Lakers out of Georgia Tech, he was part of the deal that put Pau Gasol in purple and gold.
Mike Jones Sports

And then some…
Apparently, Shaq and his wife are breaking up again. According to TMZ, Shaunie O’Neal flew to L.A. to file legal separation papers against the Daddy. But the juiciest details of what may have sparked it all comes from the website Young, Black And Fabulous, saying Shaq has been involved in an affair with the fiance of Gilbert Arenas. Read on.
Young, Black, And Fabulous