Javaris/Arenas suspended rest of the season

Today the drama of the “Rambo” incident hopefully came to an end. Both the main players involved, Javaris Crittenton and Gilbert Arenas, were suspended the rest of the season due to gun possession in the Verizon Center which is against the law and NBA policy. This was the expected punishment and is the proper way to deal with this issue. It seems that the Wizards wont take much of a hit in play quality because Javaris hasn’t played all season due to injuries and Arenas hasn’t been with the team sense his indefinite suspension. I actually believe this will take away all the off-court distractions because there isn’t much more to speculate about, The players are done for this season. It’s now the responsibility of the organization to close drama down and move on and win games for the Fans of this struggling team.

 Quotes:

Ken Wainstein, attorney for Gilbert Arenas, stated today:

Mr. Arenas respects Commissioner Stern’s decision to issue a suspension for the remainder of the season. Mr. Arenas recognizes that his actions were a serious violation of the law and league rules and were detrimental to the NBA and its reputation. He accepts full responsibility for what he did, and takes no issue with the length of the suspension or the process that led to the Commissioner’s decision. It is Mr. Arenas’ hope that this punishment will serve an important purpose, as a strong reminder of the responsibility that he and all NBA players have to set the right example with their conduct on and off the court. As such, Mr. Arenas has asked the Players Association not to challenge the suspension.

Mr. Arenas appreciates the careful and thoughtful handling of this matter by the Commissioner and his staff, and he is grateful for the Commissioner’s willingness to meet with him earlier today.

Arenas charged with a felony

Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas was charged Thursday with felony gun possession, a crime that carries a maximum five years in jail and a fine, authorities said.

The charge was announced Thursday afternoon by the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District.

Arenas’s attorney and prosecutors had been negotiating a plea deal during the day and it was not immediately clear whether the filing of charges was a part of the deal. Court officials said they had been told to prepare to have Arenas in Superior Court on Friday.

Arenas is expected to reach a plea deal with authorities that would be based around probation and volunteer time, in turn Arenas would avoid jail time. This would at the very least help Arenas have a argument of why the NBA should allow him back in the league, I believe that if he proves that he has learned his lesson the NBA may allow him back in the league in 2011. It is the question in my mind of if the Wizards would allow him back, The Wizards seem to be heading in a completely different direction, but the Wizards are also not so stupid that they don’t notice that there a worse team without Gilbert Arenas. Another aspect is the salary and contract of Gilbert Arenas which can be broken due to the breach of contract.

Here is the Wizards statement:

“We are aware of the charge filed against Gilbert Arenas today and will continue to follow the ongoing legal process very carefully. We will also continue to cooperate fully with the proper authorities and the NBA. Beyond our previous statements on this serious and unfortunate matter, will have no further comment at this time.”

All I know is that Gilbert Arenas will have to do a lot of image rebuilding if he ever wants to get back to the Wizards let alone the NBA.

More suspensions handed down by the Washington Wizards

The whirl-wind of a season continued today with the suspension of Andray Blatche. Andray Blatche who has been a productive player off the Wizards bench was suspended for seemingly unknown reasons. But it has been confirmed that Blatche had a small dispute with trainers about his knee after yesterdays 115-110 loss to the Hornets. That dispute is unknown if it’s the cause of the suspension. What sticks out to me is that this isn’t a league given suspension this was handed down by the Washington Wizards front office. This is a suspension to a key bench player that will make the already shorthanded Washington Wizards in more depth need. This must have been a serious offense considering the team never suspended Gilbert Arenas and choose to wait for the league to hand it down. The Wizards must have now taken a no tolerance policy which is good considering our team needs a big attitude check and they need to focus more and block out the distractions. This season just continues to collapse for the Wizards. The only thing to look forward to as a fan is the expected trades coming at the deadline. This picture sums up the Washington Wizards season for fans and players

Arenas suspended

Yesterday Gilbert Arenas was suspended by Commissioner David Stern for having several guns in the Verizon Center locker room and reportedly having an altercation with Javaris Crittenton over a gambling debt. This is an expected blow to the Wizards considering there was so much controversy surrounding Gilbert Arenas. Gilbert Arenas is now likely out until the investigations by the NBA and authorities are complete, if the authorities arrest him he will face a maximum of 5 years in prison which would mist likely end his NBA career. Gilbert Arenas’s absence was felt in the Washington Wizards loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers by121-98. Now someone needs to step up as a leader if the Wizards want to rally and win games down the stretch. Jamison now could be that leader to step up with the now team leading 21.3 points per game. Jamison who is a trade candidate in our “Blow it up” strategy may now be untradeable considering he is a team leader, instead look for Caron Butler being traded for expiring contracts. Also look for Mike Miller returning next game and hopefully picking up some of the slack that has been left by Gilbert Arenas being gone. The Washington Wizards have a tough road ahead of them but as our team always does they will keep working through all the diversities and challenges and hopefully win some games.

WTF corner: More problems with the Wizards

The Wizards season continued the downward spiral with the report that Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton got in a dispute that eventually involved both players pulling guns on each other. Arenas on top of all of this was already in investigation for having an unloaded gun in his locker which is against league rules. These actions by both players could involve anything from fines to suspensions to even arrests considering this is a felony in the Nations capital. The wizards in response provided this official statement :

“The Washington Wizards take this situation and the ongoing investigation very seriously. We are continuing to cooperate fully with the proper authorities and the NBA and will have no further comment at this time.”

This sounds like a team that is unsure of what happened, so far all I see is a bunch of no comments and denying, So far the only “proof” we have that there were guns drawn is a guy selling out this story to the New York Post, I mean the “witnesses” that were there say they saw no guns, even if this isn’t true this now has produced a massive distraction to add to our already large lists of distractions.  This is simply not needed and if this is proven to be true, both players deserve to be shown the door because this team doesnt need baggage like this. Arenas is the player that our team is supposed to build around, if u notice the players that u build around like Lebron James and Steve Nash don’t have nearly as many problems as Arenas is having now, sadly these problems are bringing an already speedy end to our “Big 3”

Todays WTF corner: Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards suffered another uninspiring loss. The team that underachieves failed again to hold onto a lead. This drops their record to a disappointing 10-20. This is well below the preseason expectations and is obviously disappointing to the fans and the team officials. The team which for years has been known as a poor defensive team proved yet again why they are called that, They couldn’t stop anyone on the OKC Thunder. As Coach Flip Saunders put it in his post game rant

“This team, for the last five years, has been known as the worst defensive teams [in the NBA],” he began after Tuesday’s nasty home loss to the Oklahoma Thunder. “We couldn’t stop anybody out there. We could have taken five guys in this [media] room out here, they would have had a chance. They had 46 uncontested shots. I mean, I’ve never seen that, ever, in a game. That team is playing a lot better, but that’s not the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Los Angeles Lakers or those teams yet.

“I said to you guys before the game, until our guys decide that it hurts when teams score on you, we’ve got no chance. We’re kidding ourselves. We can say we’re two games out of the playoffs or whatever…[but] I didn’t come here to make the playoffs, I came here to try to win a championship. And we need a total mindset change of how we’re going to go about doing that. And until we have that–and that’s from everybody, from staff to players–and everyone’s totally committed to that, we’re gonna have games like this where we’re gonna hang around, hang around, and then when it comes time to make some stops, you don’t have the ability to do it, you’re gonna lose games.

“Whether its lineup change, hey, it’s all up in the air right now. I’m frustrated….I feel bad for the people who came to the game and had to watch, let’s put it like that. Because we’ve got a responsibility, as professional athletes, as entertainers, to go out on the floor and perform at a high level, especially at home, in front of your home fans. Hey, I mean, the last game, Philadelphia at home, we had to take the starting lineup out and put the other guys in to get juiced up.

“So we’ll come back to practice in two days, and spots will be open for whoever it is. If guys don’t like it, that’s fine, but that’s the way it’s gonna be. Because I’m not gonna sit there, stand there and look at that any more. Through 30 games, you evaluate through 30 games where you’re at, and right now, the way it’s going, it ain’t getting done more our zone got us back in the game, then they scored a couple times on zone, guys want to come out of the zone to play man to man. They can’t guard anybody. You know, I think I can go out there on that floor and take anybody on our team one-on-one, 52 years old, and drive right around them….

“We’ve got to wake up. As I told them, don’t ever think it can’t get any worse, because it can. There’s no question, it can.”

Flip makes many valid points, this team needs to toughen up and figure out that there starting jobs aren’t set in stone, its time for the team to hopefully get defensive help at the deadline, its time for the team to as popular term goes “Blow it up” and trade one of the big 3 (preferably Caron Butler) , and its time for us to get a serviceable NBA bench. The Wizards bench got a combined 52 minutes of playing time and only managed to get 8 points, they were a combined 2-18 on shooting which to any NBA team is pathetic. Hopefully when the team “Blows it up” we can get bench help because NBA journeymen like Freddie Oberto, Deshawn Stevenson, and Earl Boykins aren’t gonna lead our team to playoff glory.  Our team is still only 2 games back from the number 8 spot in the playoffs so it’s not like we are out of it, but its time for the Wizards to wake up and go play some ball.

                              

Photo by Getty Images

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DC sports talk was created in December 2009 with the main purpose of un-biased DC sports news from an everyday fan not a paid organizational figure. I am not afraid to tell it like it is, although Im a fan of DC sports teams I will be critical if they deserve it. DC sports talk covers the wide range of DC sports including the Washington Redskins, Washington Nationals, Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals, Washington Bayhawks, and the sports of local college teams (Virginia, Virginia Tech, George Mason, and Georgetown) We strive and are proud to update the blog several times a day with up to date postings of all the latest DC sports news so add us to your favorites.