Arenas nears troubling anniversary

If I looked at a newspaper, I became this evil guy. Now wait a minute, what did I do that was actually evil? I don’t know. It was frustrating, but … it’s in the past now, so hopefully I can just move on.”
Within a week, the Wizards mlb wholesale jerseys notified the league of the locker-room confrontation. Two weeks after that, nba jerseys china NBA commissioner David Stern suspended Arenas for the remainder of the season. The suspension reminded Arenas of just how much he missed the sport.
When Arenas did return for the start of this season, the Wizards had overhauled their roster. Butler and Jamison were gone. No longer was Arenas the face of the franchise. That distinction belonged to John Wall(notes), the 20-year-old rookie guard the Wizards took with the No. 1 pick of the draft.
Arenas began the season on the bench, but has started 11 of the past 13 games. He’s averaged 17.4 points, 5.1 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 33.5 minutes per game.
Coming off the bench also was a transition. Arenas hadn’t been used primarily as a reserve since he was a rookie with the Golden State Warriors in the 2001-02 season. He knew this much: He couldn’t complain. Not after watching Allen Iverson(notes) resist a bench role with the Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies – a stance that led to Iverson now playing in Turkey because no NBA team wanted to sign him.
“It’s still basketball,” Arenas said. “The rules don’t change for the bench players. I learned a lot from the whole Iverson experience. Not get a job because I can’t adapt to my environment? I’m sure I can adapt to any environment.
Arenas also seems to have accepted that mlb jerseys wholesale the Wizards are now building around Wall. While Wall has been slowed by injuries – he’s missed seven of the Wizards’ 21 games – he has been productive when on the court, averaging 17.4 points, 9.1 assists and 2.4 steals. Wall, in turn, says Arenas has mentored him like a “brother” as the two guards try to improve their chemistry.
“When a young guy is coming in, the older guy never wants to move over,” Arenas said. “But I know my time here is over [as the face of the franchise]. I messed up my legacy here.”
How much longer Arenas plays for the Wizards is the question no one seems to be able to answer. New Wizards owner Ted Leonsis has repeatedly said he’s not interested in trading Arenas, and Arenas’ contract, which has three years and more than $60 million left after this season, will be hard to move anyway. Still, when Arenas is asked if he can envision himself playing out his contract in Washington, he sounds like he’d prefer a change of scenery. baseball wholesale jerseys
“In this league there is no such thing as long-term anymore,” Arenas said. “Players are getting shipped out and shipped out. I’m looking at the Kings like, when I first came [into the league], none of those players were here. The Lakers team, the only person that was there was Kobe [Bryant], and Derek Fisher(notes) came back.