Trans. Mar 14 3:20 ET (Mar 14 3:20 ET ) Erstwhile NBA combo guard Gilbert Arenas, once the internet's favorite basketball player, had about as unceremonious an exit from the league as a three-time All-Star can have. After several lackluster years following his controversial gun charges while a member of the Washington Wizards, Arenas received no interest this offseason after a short, unimpressive stint with the Memphis Grizzlies last spring. So, like many players, he went to China, where fans still remember him fondly and remain willing to welcome him as a hero.
Due to injury, Arenas played only 15 of 32 games for the Shanghai Sharks in the China Basketball Association's recently completed regular season. Yet he has still made an important impact as a cultural figure. In a new interview with Karan Madhok for SLAM China , Arenas discusses his experience:
A look around the league and the web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.
C : Washington Post . Nobody really liked the Gilbert Arenas contract extension from back in 2008 , especially when paired with Antawn Jamison's extension. Still, things turned out even worse than expected, and on Monday Michael Lee delved into the way Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld somehow made his bidding against himself in 2008 for Arenas' extension worse by tossing the salary cap remnants of that deal toward New Orleans for Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza.
PF : Bullets Forever . To toss dirt on the fire (?), Mike Prada details who the Wiz could've dealt for after using the amnesty provision on Rashard Lewis' contract last summer.
SF : b8sy productions . A 22-minute Matt Bonner documentary because this is what we need.
SG : The 700 Level . A good feature on why we can't get too despondent regarding Andrew Bynum's Philly future.
PG : Gothic Ginobili . Aaron McGuire, in an entertaining fashion, is breaking down each of the players that saw significant time in the NBA last season. His quest continues with Daequan Cook, Jeff Foster and Brandon Roy.
When former Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas signed a gigantic $111 million contract extension back in the summer of 2008, we sharply disagreed with the move , while giving a knowing nod to Arenas' reputation as the NBA's lovable goofball prince. Undeterred, Arenas set to spending that money and enhancing that reputation by beginning construction on a massive D.C.-area mansion complete with a grotto, an infamous shark tank (that cost $5,000 a month in maintenance bills), seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and a couple of "sitting rooms" that sit between bedrooms and bathrooms that Gilbert clearly didn't use much as his knees ( and reputation ) fell apart over the years since.
Things bottomed out in 2011-12 for Gil, as he sat on the end of the bench in Memphis, two teams away from Washington and working for a minimum salary after hitting the waiver wire in late 2011. The contract has finally run its course, Gilbert's time in the NBA is likely done, and soon after the last of that confetti was swept away, Arenas put his mansion up for sale. According to his realtors , it can be yours for $3.5 million.
Via D.C. Sports Bog , Deadspin , SB Nation and Mouse on House you can now look at the mansion that once held so much promise. So much promise of shark and bikini but mostly shark grotto parties . Click the jump for a few pictures of the one-time palace:
Memphis Grizzlies guard Gilbert Arenas will always be associated with his felony gun charge as a member of the Washington Wizards — it was simply too big and controversial a story to leave the minds of the general public. He's spoken about it in public recently, most notably in a very great interview with Sam Amick at SI.com , but he's yet to give a full account of what happened in the locker room with Javaris Crittenton.
In a long and fascinating feature for USA Today, Arenas explained the events, along with a few of his other most notable incidents and pranks. From J. Michael Falgoust (via TBJ ):
The Memphis Grizzlies' acquisition of Gilbert Arenas on March 20 is beginning to look like one of the smartest moves in franchise history. Arenas has played just eight games since being signed off his couch in Orlando, where the Magic cut the 21-points-per-game scorer after...
Rudy Gay scored 25 points, Zach Randolph added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies built a big early lead and held on to beat the Dallas Mavericks 94-89 on Saturday night. Gilbert Arenas added 14 points and made three 3-pointers, while Mike Conley finished with 12 points for Memphis, which won its second straight and seventh in the last nine games.
The Scoop: None.
Apr 7 8:17 ET
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