Do folks think he will produce when he comes back? Worth the risk of holding? Didn't draft but he is now a free agent.

Yes, he's worth holding onto as of right now. Even a bad Arenas is a great fantasy player.

No he will not produce, like last year. I remember that last year everyone's holding on him when he's injured, he kept saying that '' I'm comin next week, next week , next week '' and he delayed to come for 2 months and when he was back he was a total failure.

He is a bust and done. I wont get him in a 20 man league draft in the last pick if I have a draft today.

If there are other available players with the ability to pay more immediate potential dividends I would pick them up. I am not anticipating Gil ever being the player he was again.......

dude has had 3 knee surgeries already....
it's funny how Washington gave him a big contract before the season

It was an absolute miserable train wreck going through owning Gilbert Arenas last year. I wouldn't want him. If you do own him IGNORE EVERY SINGLE UPDATE. They are all lies. Just wait until he gets on the court. Other then that it's all smoke and mirrors with Gilbert.

Washington really screwed themselves over with that contract.

I am usually a guy who says stay away from him, because he has screwed many over. But Arenas is a very hard working in basketball, and he's doing whatever he can to come back healthy. It just feels like one of those situations where Arenas will be playing good by Feb, and everyone will be kind of pissed (in h2h leagues) that they didn't grab him. One of those hindsight 20/20 situations.

Agreed, this guy cost me my entire season last year. You know what's even more annoying about him? He posts on his own blog and says how he's coming back next week, is 100%, etc. and it's all such crap.

Run away from this guy, trade him, release him, do what you got to do. After seeing him have this same surgery last year, rush back for the playoffs against doctors orders. Mess up his knee again. Have to have the same surgery again. He is wreckless and irrational and just got his big contract. Hah don't count on him this year or any other. Only reason he made any effort last year to make it back was to show his knee is fine, which it wasn't only to make his chedda and put that franchise is salary cap hell for the next 5-6 years. Now he done. literally.

Its a shame too, I liked him. But you would think the doctors, Arenas, and management could not all mess up on one person so badly.

I disagree. He is a FG% liability even when healthy. I can't even think about what he will do to your FG% if he is dragging a bad wheel around or working his way into shape. If he avgs 18-19 points and shoots 38% from the floor, it just won't be worth it.

Let's hope that doesn't happen, just for basketball's sake. I don't own him, but I do want to see him healthy as he is fun to watch.

i'll be surprised if he plays this year

he ruined my team last year(took him at end of first round) and i only do one league. i would stay far far away

Isn't he still worth a spot in H2H league? assuming he can come back in feb and your team can make the playoffs, cant we still expect 20ppg 3reb 4assists 1.5 3s 1.5 stl from him? Afterall that's what he did in his brief return last year.

i'm keeping him in my h2h league. most people will tell you to get rid of him, but i wont.

i'd rather be wrong and make my own decision then be wrong by using someone else's opinion. it really is a toss up at this point.

he ruined people's teams last year because he was a first round pick. if he's on your waiver wire, he's essentially like a 13th rounder. you don't lose much by having him. people don't lose fantasy championships by losing the "production" of a 13th rounder, but they do win if they find gold in those last spots (last year = calderon/turk/dundun)

Agreed. People's season was ruined only because he was a first-rounder last year. It's worth holding onto him if he was a FA in your league.

Whats the latest on this guy? Arenas says he is healthy and ready to play but the Wiz keep holding him out. Are they doing this to ensure a high draft pick? If Arenas says he is ready I would at least give him 15 MPG and see how he looks. What a liability and the Wiz are dumb to give him such a big contract

Just because Arenas says he ready doesn't mean that he is ready. When the doctors clear him to play then I would believe he ready.

Last year was such a mess of him trying to rush back from the injury too early and look where that got him.

What was the original time line for him to return?

Honestly, how did that happen?

Because he only had 2 before he signed the contract? and he came back early to prove that the injury wasn't a problem. Sign the contract then said you know that Knee issue I had, it still a problem.

You got the timeline wrong. He had the knee surgery, came back and played in the playoffs, had second knee surgery, SIGNED THE CONTRACT, then had the 3rd surgery.

By the way, a little update on Arenas:

"When I was at the Verizon Center last Friday as the Wizards hosted the Lakers, I looked at Washington warming up and I thought, is that Arenas down there? Surely enough, Agent Zero is practicing with the team at the beginning of games now, and not afraid to mix it up in his suit during the second half warm-ups.

Arenas is slated to return, by his own prediction, sometime after New Year's, but so far, his shot is falling pretty well. I think it will just be a matter of conditioning, and being ready for in-game situations--especially if this latest trade for Mike James doesn't quite work out."

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-601-Washington-W...getting-healthy

Don't be overly excited, but at least dude is practicing lol

Taking jumpers in a suit and running full speed and cutting in a game are light years apart from each other. I wish all you Arenas owners the best....but I would just ignore ignore ignore until he actually gets on the court.

Anyone taking a gamble on Arenas this year? It's been about 1.5 years since his 1st major surgery so I presume his knees are feeling much better now, especially since he's taking more time away from basketball. I'm sure he learned his lesson after coming back early last year. By the way, were all the surgeries done on his knees, or were they just cleaning out debris?

I'm thinking about gambling on this guy. He's only 26 turning 27 in January, still super young for an athlete. It's very possible he lost a step from his knee surgery but I think it's worth a gamble if they're expecting him to come back in January.

his current surgery wasn't anything major. they just need to clean out debris from his knee

An owner in my league drafted him and has been holding, as I'm sure is the case in a lot of leagues. People who drafted him knew what they were in for. I would expect him back until after the all-star break, if at all. Why would they bring him back if they are out of the playoffs 2 months in?

If he is healthy, I don't see why he would not play. Even if out of the playoff picture the Wiz might like to know how he meshes with the current team as well as how he looks on the court. It might determing who they resign who they draft etc. etc. I agree if not healthy they won't push him back, but come on how is this guy not healed? He is way out normal limits for this kind of surgery. Of course just in the interest of full disclosure, I did draft him and am holding him.

No surgery is ever major, as long as it happens to someone else. In all seriousness, any surgery involving "debris" and "knee" strikes me as major especially when it's the 3rd surgery within a year.

he's a free agent in my H2H league in which missed games really hurt your chances. i might pick him up after this week and see what the news is in January.

the wiz are at the bottom of the East but are still only six games out of the playoff picture.

I drafted Arenas in the 10th round this year for the second team in the sig. We did draft after the season already started, about a month ago. I have no qualms about holding onto this guy for another month or so. Granted, I am currently in second and not really worried, but he will be a solid fantasy player come February, especially in H2H. Hold strong guys.

When would you advise picking up Arenas in a Roto league (10 ppl if it helps)

i guess the wizards are considering close him out the whole season.

so is this just a total guess on your part or do you have some kind of source to back up that thought? you cant really post something that drastic without giving a source

this is from yahoo



Fri, Dec 26 Arenas (knee) and the Wizards are considering whether to bring Arenas back at all this season, the Washington Post reports. Recommendation: Arenas, who was originally targeted to return in early December, remains out with no clear return date.

ah ok thanks. that was straight from yahoo or did they get that info from a different source like rotowire or anything?

from yahoo

as expected

Apparently good news per ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-081227-28 (#10 on the right side)

"The Wiz, though, apparently aren't there yet. A source close to the situation insisted Friday that the plan remains for Arenas to return to the court in the near future -- similar to Elton Brand's comeback with the Clippers late last season from an Achilles' tear with no hope of getting to the postseason -- in spite of where the Wiz are in the standings and the obvious long-term concerns about Arenas being healthy enough to live up to his contract."

When that is, I don't know, but he said he would be ready in January, so I can't see Gilbert of all people really sitting around any longer after he is fully healthy.

Like what I was saying in the earlier post, the Wiz will play Arenas this year for sure. No way is he sitting out two years after getting 100+ mil contract. He won't be the same Arenas but his production will still provide lots of managers help across the board.

in my league he was just put on the block... i might just offer him mike james lol

i picked him up in one of my leagues -- of course, i am in dead last and thinking keeper value, it's hard to imagine gambling on him to give any production this year

Honest question here... Is he worth a waiver pickup in a 12-Team H2H league w/ 3 bench spots??? I'd be dropping Beno.

karabell at espn believes he will play less than 5 games this year

gilbert will not and has no reason to play this year. i dont think he plays any games at all this season. just my opinion...

i second that

he came back early last year and screwed it even worse...there is absolutely no reason he should be back this year.

Pretty huge contract to just be sitting around doing nothing. He'll play this year because they will make him earn a little of his money.