Wizards Insider

On a night like tonight, basketball games, locker room feuds and the return of a former coach all seemed quite trivial. Abe Pollin, the patriarch of the Washington Wizards died on Tuesday afternoon, creating an emotional and somber tone as the players were informed only a few minutes before they arrived at Verizon Center.

Pollin had close relationships with several of players, viewing many of them as his sons. Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas both spoke of the special relationships they had with Pollin. Jamison had formed a close bond with Pollin, similar, though not nearly as deep as, to the one Pollin had established with the legendary Wes Unseld. Arenas said Pollin "was like a father away from home."

Brendan Haywood, the longest tenured Wizard with nine years in the organization, recalled how when he arrived, Pollin used to run around the arena for exercise and how difficult it was to see him deteriorate the past few years.

"No question, there was a lot of emotion," Coach Flip Saunders said. "A lot of these players were really close and they know Mr. Pollin's love for the team, for the NBA and the city of D.C. it was an emotional game."

The Wizards were saddened and carried heavy hearts onto the court as they faced Eddie Jordan on the anniversary of his firing. They also were shorthanded with both Mike Miller (strained right calf) and Caron Butler (sore right ankle) sidelined because of injuries. That forced Flip Saunders to get a bit creative with his roster, as he started Nick Young at shooting guard and Jamison at small forward, with Fabricio Oberto starting at power forward.

The moves worked out well. After having participating one practice at small forward, Jamison scored a season-high 32 points with 14 rebounds and three assists, while Young scored 20 points with four rebounds. Young's performance was especially surprising since he was placed on the inactive list in San Antonio last Friday, but also because Saunders had to have him on the floor.

"It wasn't his offense, it was his defense," Saunders said. "Probably not many times that we couldn't take out Nick because he did a good job defensively. He did a very, very good job."

Young helped hold Andre Iguodala to just 12 points on 2 of 10 shooting. He also made some smart basketball plays, like when he recovered a loose ball in the third quarter and alertly called timeout before falling out of bounds.

Saunders said that going on the inactive list probably forced Young to say, " 'I got a choice. I can change myself or go along with the motions.' To his credit, our last few practices, he's probably been our best player."

But Saunders did have a problem with one aspect of Young's game -- his annoying habit of brushing his shoulders after every made basket. "He has to get rid of that flick of the shirt when he makes shots," Saunders said. "That's not why you make shots."

The Wizards led 96-82 when Brendan Haywood tip in a shot, but the Wizards could ease into the night. The 76ers made a relentless charge in the fourth quarter behind rookie Jrue Holiday and Louis Williams, who combined to make five three-pointers and score 21 points in the period. "Philadelphia is one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league," Saunders said. "You wouldn't know it from the fourth quarter."

The run was aided by three Arenas turnovers in the final 5:30. After Arenas made a difficult running layup to give the Wizards a 108-105 lead, he surrendered an underhanded scoop shot to Williams, then lost the ball with 27.8 seconds left. But when Williams fired his final three-pointer, the ball rimmed out.

"Maybe Abe's spirit knocked that out," Jordan said.

Haywood wasn't buying it. "I love Mr. Pollin, but I think good defense stopped the Williams shot, so give us our credit right there."

Jamison is hopeful that the Wizards can build on this win. "It was tough for us but we knew Mr. Pollin would want us to come out here and play hard and find a way to get it done. We were fortunate to do that tonight," he said. "We didn't play smart down the stretch, with costly turnovers. Right now, we don't care if they are pretty."

But Jamison said that it would be difficult to finish a game and not hear a congratulatory call from Pollin. Arenas said his favorite memory of Pollin was how he celebrated victories. "You know, after every win he would slap the [stuffing] out of you in the face. He'd be walking around slapping everybody. I just remember the players used to come in and when he was getting ready to slap you they'd just give him the duck in."

Arenas was joking, but those days will be missed.

NBA Commissioner David Stern:
"With Abe Pollin's passing, the NBA family has lost its most revered
member, whose stewardship of the Wizards franchise, together with his wife
Irene, has been a study in unparalleled dedication to the city of
Washington. During his illness he fought with a determination and valor
that will remain an inspiration to all. We extend our deepest sympathies
to Irene and his two sons, to whom he was so very devoted, and to the
entire Pollin family."

Redskins owner Dan Snyder:
"Abe Pollin was a great owner for Washington, as well as a personal friend. His legacy will live through his teams and the arena he built, and just as importantly, through his commitment to his family and to Washington. My thoughts and prayers go out to Irene and the rest of his wonderful family."

The Washington Nationals:
"The Washington Nationals and the Lerner family join all of the Washington DC community and sports fans nationally in mourning the loss of Abe Pollin. He was not just the beloved owner of sports teams in the Nation's Capital for almost 40 years; he was also a significant force in the rebirth of downtown Washington DC, and a magnanimous contributor to the personality, health, and well-being of everyone who calls our community home. He leaves an important legacy. Our deepest affection and condolences are with the Pollin family and the Washington Sports and Entertainment organization in their time of grief."

D.C. United:
"Abe Pollin was the most iconic figure on the Washington, D.C. sports scene and one of the most beloved owners in all of American sports. His decades-long stewardship of the Wizards, Capitals, and Mystics, his vision in developing the Verizon Center, and his deep commitment to the D.C. community made him an example for sports team owners and executives everywhere. On behalf of the players, staff, and fans of D.C. United, we extend our deepest sympathies to everyone at Washington Sports and Entertainment, and especially to the Pollin family."

Washington Convention and Sports Authority:
"The Washington Convention and Sports Authority, along with the entire Washington, D.C. community, mourns the passing of Abe Pollin, a legendary figure on the D.C. sports scene and a visionary whose dedication to the community is an inspiration to us all. He was a beloved sports owner in the District for more than 40 years and his pioneering efforts were a significant factor in the revitalization of downtown Washington. He will be missed, but his legacy will live on forever. We extend our sincere condolences to his wife Irene, his two sons and the entire Pollin family." [Added at 6 pm]

George Washington University President Steven Knapp:  
All of us at The George Washington University mourn the loss of trustee emeritus and distinguished alumnus Abe Pollin.  A 1945 graduate of the University, Mr. Pollin served as a member of the Board of Trustees from 1974 to 1999.  He was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1974 and inducted into the School of Business Sports Executive Hall of Fame on March 9, 2009.  He was a dedicated Washingtonian who transformed his beloved community.  We at GW are proud of his accomplishments, and he will be greatly missed. [Added at 6:25 pm]

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman:
"Abe Pollin always wanted the best for his teams, for the fans and for Washington -- and all of those passions combined to create the arena that revitalized the entire downtown community. He was a man of commitment and principle and we all will miss him. The National Hockey League family sends sincere condolences to his loved ones." [Added 7:35 pm]

Greater Washington Sports Alliance:
"The Greater Washington Sports Alliance mourns the passing of Mr. Pollin. He was a leader in the business of sports, but more importantly, he was an exemplary figure in our community. His many achievements transformed the role that sports can have in our lives. Much of our work was started with the standards he had established, and they will continue on for many more years with the lifetime of legacies he has left us with. We extend our sincere condolences to the entire Pollin family." [Added 8:42 pm]

Capitals Owner Ted Leonsis:

We are all saddened by the news of Mr. Pollin's passing. We extend our deepest sympathies to Irene, Robert, Jimmy, the rest of the Pollin family and his many friends and join them, and all of Washington, in mourning a great man.

Mr. Pollin was a model philanthropist, an icon in the sports world and the individual responsible for founding the Capitals and bringing an NBA championship to our city. He was the catalyst in building a fabulous downtown arena that revitalized the surrounding area. Anyone walking down 7th Street, seeing the throngs of excited fans, the host of popular restaurants, hotels and nightspots, can attest to the lasting legacy of Mr. Pollin's deep commitment to D.C.

My partners and I were proud to work with him and his family during the last ten years and we are committed to continuing his tradition of building exciting, championship-caliber teams. When Lincoln Holdings bought the Capitals and a substantial percentage of Washington Sports & Entertainment from Mr. Pollin in 1999, he gave us the exclusive right to purchase the remaining portion of the Wizards, Verizon Center and the local Ticketmaster franchise. That agreement established an orderly process for conducting that transaction and it is our intention to follow that process. Now is not the time, however, to discuss that subject; our focus now should be on mourning a great man who has done so much for our city. [Added 8:47 pm]

The only majority owner in the history of the Washington Wizards died on Tuesday at age 85. The Wizards just released a statement:

Washington, D.C. - Washington Sports & Entertainment Chairman Abe Pollin passed away earlier today. Further details will be released through Washington Sports & Entertainment as they become available. The Pollin family asks that their privacy be respected in this difficult time.

You got there. No, go there. Uh, where are you going? (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Eddie Jordan's current team has a better record than his former team, but that doesn't mean all is well for him in Philadelphia. The 76ers (5-8) have lost their last two games in a row as Jordan returns to Verizon Center for the first time since the Wizards fired him. Here's what else you need to know about the 76ers before the game tonight:

1. Jordan has already called out his team for being soft twice this month. But it is obvious that he is still trying to learn his team. And, the 76ers are still learning the complicated Princeton offense.

2. Elton Brand, the 76ers' $80 million dollar man, is averaging 12.1 points and 6.5 rebounds and Jordan recently considering benching him, thinking that Brand could no longer play major minutes. But in the past three games, Brand has been on the comeback trail. He is averaging 19.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.7 blocks in 38.3 minutes.

3. Andre Iguodala is being groomed to be a star, but he has struggled in the past two losses to Memphis and Cleveland. He averaged just 13.5 points -- which is down from his season average of 18.2 points -- and shot 11 of 39 from the floor.

Miss me? (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The locker room callouts about "egos" and "hidden agendas" and the recent spat involving Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler have overshadowed what the dominant theme of this game was expected to be: the reunion of Eddie Jordan and the Washington Wizards -- on the anniversary of his firing.

How rich is that?

"I didn't know it was the anniversary," Antawn Jamison said after practice on Monday. "That's strange, but it's just one of those things."

It will be interesting to see what kind of reception Jordan gets, especially with the Wizards only slightly better than they were last season, when Jordan was fired after a 1-10 start. When talking to reporters in Philadelphia on Monday, Jordan said he remembers Ernie Grunfeld being "very sincere" when he decided to replace him with Ed Tapscott last Nov. 24.

''Not apologetic, but he had to do what he had to do,'' Jordan said. ''I said, 'Ernie, I understand. It's the right thing to do, and it worked out -- for me anyway.''

Jamison said that, at the time, he was surprised to see Jordan get fired so early in the season. "I thought it wasn't going to happen. You had some key guys injured, and we were still 12 games into the season so you still had a long way to go. But I remember getting that call, the day I found out, and how he appreciated the things that I've done and the experiences I had with him," he said.

"I learned so much from Coach Jordan and the rest of those guys. That's part of the business. Things like that happen, and sometimes I think we take it for granted that we do have the power to influence that, and it happens," Jamison said. "I been through six, seven coaches in my career, but he's definitely been a guy I've learned a lot from and became a leader and had a lot of success with, and I definitely appreciate what he's done for me."

Arenas has made several negative comments about Jordan's systems since the firing. But other than say that "athletes don't work" in the Princeton offense, he didn't place any special importance on this game. "For the team, I don't know that we're really excited about it because it was our old coach. It's more for the fans. They thought they lost a good man, and we all felt we lost a good man. But he got a job, and unfortunately it's on the East coast."

Jordan said that he was surprised that the Wizards are off to a sluggish start because "the big three are together" and the team added Mike Miller and Randy Foye. ''They've got a ton of talent, and a ton of experience,'' he said. "That's a formidable team, and they should be very good. I don't know what their problem is."

He added that he expects the Wizards to figure it out soon enough. "I know they can be a very good team," he said. "I know that. We've been around long enough to know this is a game we want to play well in. I know their personnel; they have a good team. They've got scorers, they've got veterans and they've played together for a while. I know it's a new system they're trying to learn, but they know each other."

Yes, we're aware there's a game tonight.

Might have been easy to forget in light of all the Gilbert Arenas-Caron Butler news. Michael Lee covers it for the paper, which gave it some attention on the sports front page of the dead-tree version of our enterprise. Mr. Lee also put together some late-night thoughts on the matter on the Insider. And if you need a primer on Gilbert, in his own words, we got you covered there, too.

Here's Mike Jones's Washington Times story on all this.

Brendan Haywood addresses the Wizards' locker room problems in his latest blog post and explains that he has never had a problem with Gilbert Arenas and that his "ego" comments were intended for the entire team, including himself.

Truth About It offers its take on the Wizards' off-court flair for the dramatic.

Nationally, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com checks in on Wizards' woes.

NBA.com's Rick Kamla devotes his "Rick Rant" segment to the Wizards. Plenty of tough love here:

Around the League ...

Pretty low-key four-game slate on Monday night. The Spurs snapped the Bucks' winning streak; Greg Oden tied his career high in a Blazers' win (too soon to call him a bust?); and the Timberwolves have now lost 13 in a row.

I wanted to give you guys an update on what happened since my last blog post. The drama with these Wizards has to be charted in real time, it seems. I spoke with Caron Butler shortly after I wrote about how Gilbert Arenas said that 14 of the 15 players on the team get along and two of the three captains -- Arenas and Antawn Jamison -- would help the team heal the rifts in the locker room.

Butler, one of the team's three captains, was shocked to hear about Arenas's comments and refused to say anything in retaliation. He told me that he has no problems with anyone on the team and understood that guys start pointing fingers when things go poorly.

"It's crazy, losing and everything. Man, it's tough," he said, "but in the midst of all of this, we've got to remain positive. That's all you can do. That's what I'm going to do. You got to find the silver lining in every situation. Collectively, we got to find a way to win games and work hard in practice. We'll see what happens."

Shortly thereafter, Butler called Arenas to discuss the comments that Arenas had made to reporters that afternoon. The conversation eventually grew into a discussion about how the team can get better, according to Butler and Arenas, who called me a few hours ago to confirm the talk. After the phone call, Butler texted me to tell me that the two had resolved their differences and added, "I never had a problem with him."

Both guys made it clear to me that they want to help this team to get back on the right track and start winning again. We'll see if they can get it together. The Wizards really need them to.

In his conversation with reporters, earlier this afternoon, Arenas explained the reasons why the Wizards have been unable to click offensively. He said Flip Saunders's system is not the problem.

"It's not difficult to pick up the offense. It's difficult to get the guys the ball without killing the rest of the team," Arenas said. "If I want to get Antawn off, just like I did in Cleveland, I just do pick-and-roll. If I want to get Randy the ball, I just call two plays. If I need Mike Miller to shoot, I call the play. Certain people just need certain plays.

"That's the easy part, but they're telling me to be in attack mode while getting them the ball," Arenas said. "They want me to attack more than I already am. They say if I go and do what I do, everybody will score easy. But if I attack all the time, I'm going to take away from everybody else. It's not like Chris Paul in his offense where he is the offense just pick-and-rolling everything. It's different. But, like I say, Antawn, he comes back and he has [31 points] because I know what he needs because I've been playing with him the longest: pick-and-roll. Caron, he needs isos. But how do I get him the ball without cutting other players out? That's been the problem."

When you hear stuff like that, you realize that it might be too much to expect Arenas and Butler to have everything figured out when they've only played together 11 games this season. Arenas really is like adding a new piece since he's been out the past two seasons. And, in that time, Butler got accustomed to being one of the primary go-to-guys with Jamison. They aren't the same players they were when they last played regularly. These are just the truly agonizing growing pains of getting re-acclimated with one another.

Butler will be a game-time decision on Tuesday after an MRI showed no structural damage on the right ankle injury that has been causing him problems the past week. Mike Miller's MRI showed that he has a strained right calf muscle and will miss the next three to six weeks.

"It does hurt because when he came off that screen, he made everything happen," Arenas said. "Either he'd get a wide-open jumper, or he'd drive or kick or drove and hit Brendan [Haywood]. But Randy can do the same thing, and somebody else just has to step up."

Randy Foye and Arenas had developed some good chemistry in the first few games, but Foye has had difficulty regaining his rhythm after missing nearly a week with a sprained right ankle. "He can't push off the way he wants. That's why I just said I need him to hurry up and get back to where he was in the beginning."

Leave it to Jamison to serve as the voice of reason for this bumpy start to the season. "It's only 12 games into the season. If the season was based on what happened the first 12 games, then okay, it's a done deal. But 82 games, we still got a long way to go," he said. "We've been in this situation before. The most important this not to let this linger any longer to the point that its really hard to get out of the win-loss column. It's a sense of urgency already. I hope it can be a good holiday weekend for us, get a little turkey and gain some weight."

The Wizards will possibly be without two starters when they welcome back Eddie Jordan on Tuesday. The team is still waiting on the results of MRIs on Mike Miller's right calf and Caron Butler's right foot. Butler didn't practice on Monday and is questionable after playing with through the injury the past two weeks.

Coach Flip Saunders said the pain became unbearable in the past week. "He decided go to an MRI to see where it's at. It swelled up a little bit yesterday so we'll know more this afternoon. I know that he had trouble being able to push off in San Antonio. He just couldn't get anything going. We thought it would be better to try to see where it's at and try to take care of it."

Miller will definitely be out for an extended period of time after injuring his calf in San Antonio. Miller was on crutches, dressed in warm-ups, and wearing a New York Yankees championship cap after practice. As he walked by reporters, Miller joked, "I'm going to play tomorrow."

When asked how he was going to determine a start lineup against the Philadelphia 76ers, Saunders joked, "Rock, paper, scissors." But he later said that Nick Young will start either way. Saunders is still trying to decide whether he will start Dominic McGuire at small forward, have Randy Foye at shooting guard and Young at small forward, or even start Fabricio Oberto or Andray Blatche and play Antawn Jamison at small forward.

Saunders said he would wait until Tuesday to make a decision on Butler, hoping that the Wizards' late afternoon shootaround would provide him some extra rest.

Young had fallen out of favor with Saunders, especially after forgetting a play that was called for him in Miami. He will go from inactive against the Spurs to starting against 76ers, an incredible turnaround, but somewhat understandable, given the Wizards' constant injury woes.

"He's really had very good practices," Saunders said. Being inactive 'the last game, more than anything, is because of the situation. We knew Caron was a little bit sore. If something happened to him and he couldn't go, we wanted to have a bigger body. But he's had good practices the last week."

What does he have to do to stay on the floor? "Just consistency, play within himself, play hard and try to cut down on mental mistakes but still try to stay aggressive offensively."

There appears that there is some confusion over the dissension within the Wizards. It certainly is there, but there is no rift between Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood. Their comments were not directed toward each other, although some have inferred that. This won't evolve into some Hayood-Etan Thomas feud.

Arenas spoke with reporters after practice for the first time since the regular season began. I asked him if players on the team trust one another and he offered up this doozy: "Most of us feel we're confident in each other on the floor and there are a few that don't. I have no idea," he said. "But for the most part, we all get a long. There are, what, 15 players on the team? Fourteen do."

He may have cleared up that comment a few minutes later when asked who was responsible for healing the rift on the team. "Me and Antawn. That's our jobs," Arenas said. "But at the end of the day, if 15 players don't want to go and it's only 14, you've seen Remember the Titans. It's the same thing, we've just got to play."

Now, the Wizards have a tri-captain system with Arenas, Jamison and Butler. So it was obvious that Arenas left someone out of the leadership mix. I've mentioned the problems that Arenas and Butler have had playing with each other for most of this funk, but it is really starting to heat up even more.

When Arenas was asked if Butler was also part of the equation to resolve some of the problems with the team chemistry, he smiled, leaned in and asked, "Come again?"

Is Caron also a part of that?

"Yeah," he said.

Arenas also said that he thought the team would be 13-2 this month. He said he even made a bet with assistant coach Sam Cassell. He's had to pay up after each loss. "It's kinda frustrating because me and Sam had a little bet thing going on," he said. "Now I'm kinda down in a hole. Every time we lose a game that we weren't supposed to lose, I owe a hundred dollars to the team."

The Wizards need to turn it around soon. Right now, Arenas is on pace cough up $6,100.

Well, you knew it would take something special for the Wizards to get noticed on a weekend when they played a time zone away and local fans were getting geared up for Dallas Week. And of course, it couldn't be on the court. That would be too easy. How about some locker-room dissension? Yes! It almost needs no introduction, with Michael Lee covering it not only in today's Post, but also in a blog entry we posted last night. Be sure to vote in the poll that comes with said post.

Here's the view from Mike Jones of the Washington Times.

If nothing else, at least Gilbert Arenas isn't shooting at the wrong basket. Yet. (TwitVid courtesy of @jose3030)

(Speaking of the Nets, our Norman Chad wrote a column in which he says New Jersey should aim high: 0-82)

In other Wizards news, Mike Prada of Bullets Forever weighs in on Mike Miller's injury situation, which could be serious. Truth About It takes a look at the curious case of Nick Young. Remember him? He actually started a game this season, at Indiana.

Around the league ...

Six games on the Sunday slate. KG wins it at the buzzer at MSG. The Suns have their way with the Pistons. And out west, the Lakers thrash the Thunder. The full recap, courtesy of NBA.com's Daily Zap:

I wasn't able to completely delve into the rising dissension in the Wizards' locker room, but I decided to use this forum to go a little deeper than what I could in the newspaper. You already know by now that Brendan Haywood and Gilbert Arenas made some interesting comments after the team suffered a 22-point loss in San Antonio.

Haywood talked about how "ego" is standing in the way of the Wizards' success this season. He didn't single out anyone, but he spoke of the need for the players to humble themselves, stop worrying about statistics and glory and play basketball. "Check your ego at the door. Let's try and win," Haywood said. "I watch the Celtics, and that's what they do. Paul Pierce can have 12 in the fourth quarter if they're up, he don't care. That's what we gotta do. Check your ego at the door, move the ball, play some defense."

But immediately after Haywood was done talking to reporters, Arenas emerged from the shower and basically said that he was going to start going for his if the situation doesn't get better. It was a rather bizarre because Haywood intentionally yelled his answers so that everyone in the room could hear them. Arenas actually walked in from the shower while Haywood was talking, then returned until Haywood was finished.

Arenas then began talking as if he was going to save the team and that the individual agendas of the Wizards' eight free agents have been the reason for the team's failures. I'll get to his comments about the free agents a little later, but first I want to look deeper into what else he said. He explained why he might have to go on a similar tear as three years ago, when the Wizards started the season 4-9 and had the best record in the Eastern Conference before February.

"I guess you start losing everyone wants to start pointing fingers everywhere else," Arenas said. "I converted my game to try to get people involved, but at the end of the day, to be honest, this is the same team since three years ago. We added a couple of pieces. You had Roger Mason, now you have Randy Foye. But Dray is Dray, Caron's Caron, Antawn's Antawn. It's basically the same thing, so I'm sitting here thinking, 'Do I have to go into attack mode like I was two years ago to get us over the hump?' I hope not. I hope we're strong enough mentally that we can get over this."

Arenas cannot honestly believe that this current team -- on paper at least -- is not better than the one three years ago. And, with the ball in his hands more than it was then, he has had opportunities to take over games but either didn't (he took just 10 shots in Indiana) or couldn't (he took 27 shots, missing 18, in a loss to Miami, and could never provide the closing touch in that home loss to Detroit). Since that opening win in Dallas, the Wizards' best fourth-quarter performance came last week against Cleveland, with Arenas on the bench.

Still, Arenas believes that he has had to scale back his game for the betterment of the team. "I think the only person who actually had to sacrifice was me. Everybody else can just play their game," Arenas said.

Arenas is averaging 19.3 shot attempts, which leads the team, but has the worst field goal percentage of the starters at 39 percent. Through three quarters on Saturday, he had taken 18 shots -- the same as Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison combined. "Before, I would've taken 27 shots on a night like this to keep us in the game," Arenas said. "But I'm not trying to revert to that. Before, I'd look at Eddie and he'd say, 'Take over the game.' But I've got trust in these guys that eventually Randy's going to start hitting shots. He's coming off of injury. That Caron's going to start catching and shooting, that we'll start getting production out of Dray again."

"Like I told Twan, couple more games before I just say, 'Hey, I'm going to have to carry you guys on my back,' " Arenas said.

As I wrote in my story for the paper, it's debatable whether Arenas is still capable of a similar performance when he is still trying to regain his form and confidence after missing nearly two seasons after three left knee surgeries. He clearly has some rust to work out before he is back to what he once was. But the part of Arenas's interview that was truly strange was when he spoke about the "hidden agendas" on the team.

"Everybody needs to get on the same level, that's all. Everyone's got their own individual goals, I guess. Hidden agendas. You can't win like that," he said. "I've never been on a team where you have eight free agents next year. I've never played on a team like that. I've never seen it turn out well. Sometimes it works out for the best because everybody's hungry and everybody's fighting. Sometimes it works out for the worst when everybody's out for their own."

Huh? The eight free agents have hidden agendas?

Haywood is the only free agent who has played every game this season, but it's not like rebounding and blocking shots is a disruption. Mike Miller has been playing with one arm because he's a competitor. Randy Foye has been hurt and received limited minutes of late. Fabricio Oberto is the ultimate team player, so much so that Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said the guy is going to heaven when he dies. Earl Boykins has played three games. Dominic McGuire doesn't play. And Mike James and Javaris Crittenton are both out injured.

I'll admit that having several players looking for contracts could be a distraction, but I have a hard time seeing any of those guys as the problem right now. It's not like any of them resurrected old nicknames, are trying to get a million followers on Twitter or just established Web sites to promote their all-star campaigns.

Look, Arenas is free to market himself in whatever manner he pleases -- as Angry Gil, Silent Gil, Agent Zero, Hibachi, etc. -- but the timing of all this seems pretty bad with the season slipping. He really needs to just play basketball and stop worrying about the ancillary stuff. Three and nine should lead to a change in priorities. Ultimate stardom comes with wins.