# Arenas calls out Igoudala



## Krstic All-Star

Says "he doesn't have it" in his blog entry. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/rumors/...lt=Ahfj.ykwOvzRBNPjD6J_TBC8vLYF?urn=nba,57619

I'm sure you've all read the article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, but what are you all thinking? Is it even worth thinking about? And why should Igoudala be like Arenas?


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## thaKEAF

Maybe it's not right for him to come out and say that, but he does have a point.


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## Sliccat

well, hes right.


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## croco

Yes, he is right, but he shouldn't forget that he doesn't have "it" either. :whistling:


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## iversonfan 349

How can he talk has he acomplished anything? This is igoudalas first year as the leader of the sixers.They are 8-13 with a young team arenas needs to shut his mouth.


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## BEEZ

Honestly what has Arenas done in this league besides score alot of points and throw up a ton of shots? Im not happy with Iggy's play either but, I mean come one Arenas.


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## Sliccat

BEEZ said:


> Honestly what has Arenas done in this league besides score alot of points and throw up a ton of shots? Im not happy with Iggy's play either but, I mean come one Arenas.


he's done about as much as that guy in your avatar.


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## The lone wolf

This is taken out of context - Arenas was talking about Iggy, Okafor and Deng refusing 12 mil/year contracts


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## Krstic All-Star

Not so much out of context:


> *Same thing with Iguodala. I know after A.I. left, you were supposed to be that No. 1 guy, but, the way he plays the game, he doesn’t have that. He’s not that type of player. He’s a second guy. *An assistant coach told me a great story about him. When he was in Arizona, he said he was like 9-for-11 from the field and he apologized to the team for shooting 11 shots. From that day on, I just called him Scottie Pippen. He’s a Scottie Pippen type of player. A great, overall player. He’s your glue player. You need a superstar and then you need him. So $12 million is good for you. Nothing more and nothing less. Be happy with the $12 million.


 http://my.nba.com/forum.jspa?forumID=400032200&start=0


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## Wade County

Didnt Arenas and Igoudala both go to Arizona - I thought you take care of your own? 

Seems like an unnecessary and unwarranted attack, dunno what Gil's getting at.


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## The lone wolf

Well - kind of - Arenas makes only 10 mil/year (he has his own underdog complex) and he's talking about these guys refusing 12 - so his argument is that it only makes sense for clear-cut franchise guys to refuse that kind of money - and he runs his mouth about why iggy is not a clear-cut top banana


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## rainman

Good to see Arizona alums stick together. Whether anything he said is valid he should keep his comments to himself.


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## croco

That doesn't make much sense either since Pippen was clearly a better player than Mr. Hibachi will most likely ever be.


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## Piolo_Pascual

so what he has a point. and he has a right because he;s a franchise player.


also,he's just stating the obvious that iguodala is not a 1st option/franchise player.

iggy is a second op at best.


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## Jizzy

Bull****. AI2 was called upon to lead a team that was put around him. you think he forced his way into making himself the no. option? it's not his fault the team is constructed around him is so bad that he has to be "the guy", you're trying to make him into something he's not.

What basis does Gilbert have to call anyone out? he was horrible this season. Arenas is the definiton of an attention whore.


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## Jizzy

The lone wolf said:


> This is taken out of context - Arenas was talking about Iggy, Okafor and Deng refusing 12 mil/year contracts


oh ok, never mind then.


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## Adam

This was taken completely out of context.

Arenas was saying he doesn't have "it" referring to that he shouldn't turn down 12 million for 14 million because he isn't worth Kobe money. And he's right...Iggy is NOT Kobe. He also said Okafor wasn't worth Dwight Howard money and Deng wasn't worth LeBron money.

Sad to see how people are so easily misled by journalists sometimes.


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## Krstic All-Star

^ Did you read the blog? I posted the section in this thread. Arenas called him a secondary player.


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## futuristxen

Gilbert Arenas blog is one of the best things about the NBA. Do you guys realize what a privilige it is to have this kind of access to one of the strangest minds in the game today. He's not like annoyingly weird like Rodman. He's just so much like pretty much everyone on these boards that it just cracks me up. He's a really good writer too. His blog is as good as Sports Guy's articles.

And his larger point in that blog was pretty convincing. He was talking about how these guys are stupid to turn down the 12 million because they won't get that offer down the road sure thing. He talked about how Samaki Walker and Joe Smith both turned down massive deals thinking they would get more, but they ended up losing money they'd never make back for their career.

He also ripped Luol Deng and Anderson Varejao. Pretty much all the players who turned down big money this offseason he tore into.

God his blog is good.

http://my.nba.com/forum.jspa?forumID=400032200&start=0
Read it for yourself!

Plus his wikipedia page is one of the best ones out there.

"At the Wizards' first home game of the 2006-07 season (November 4, 2006), during the introductions, Arenas came out wearing a blue robe with a hood, looking like a boxer. He was supposed to resemble a "wizard."[19]

Arenas does not wear size 13 sneakers on the court even though his feet are size 14½, as popularly believed. This was a misquote from an interview. He actually wears shoes a half size larger.[20]

During the 2006 NBA season, he began to shout the word hibachi as he took field goal attempts in games, explaining, "You know, a hibachi grill gets real hot. That's what my shot's like, so I've been calling it that: 'Welcome to the hibachi'." He has also stated that while he is scoring on opponents, he is "cooking chicken and shrimp" in reference to his "Hibachi grill," and that if his opponent wanted to double team him, he would "cook fillet mignon" as well.[21]

On December 23, 2006, Arenas told The Washington Post he had begun replacing "hibachi" with the phrase "quality shot," a direct reference to Kobe Bryant who had felt Arenas' shot selection was questionable and that he seemingly lacked a conscience. "Out of that whole game I probably took two bad shots," Arenas would respond. "And for me not to have a conscience? You're right. When you're an assassin, you don't have a conscience." Nonetheless, Kobe stated that Gilbert Arenas is one of the most difficult players to guard in the NBA.[22]

On January 3, 2007, Arenas hit a very long game-winning three-point shot to beat the Milwaukee Bucks. In a post-game interview, Arenas stated that he did not shout "hibachi" or "quality shot." Rather, he told reporters that "My swag was phenomenal."

On January 15, 2007, Arenas hit yet another game-winning three-point shot to defeat the Utah Jazz. When observing both video clips of the game winning shots, one can see that Arenas throws his hands up signaling a basket before the ball actually falls through the net. Upon leaving the court to chants of "M-V-P!" Arenas said, "MVP? That trophy is given out at the end of the year. This is (37) games into the season so you can't do too much about it."[23]

According to Gilbert Arenas's blog, he predicted that he would hit the game winner against the Utah Jazz on January 15, 2007.[24]

On January 23, 2007, when asked about Gilbert's remarks about predicting his next game against Portland, Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni jokingly said, "I can't wait to see what he does against Duke. He's gonna kill Duke."[25] Gilbert then responded by saying that given their soft rims, he'd probably score 84 or 85 points at Duke, and that he'd be willing to give up playing an entire NBA season to play against them. He added, "I wouldn't pass the ball. I wouldn't even think about passing it. It would be like NBA Live or an NBA 2K7 game, you just shoot with one person." [26]. While at Arizona, Arenas played against Duke in the 2001 NCAA National Championship game. He scored 10 points on 4-17 shooting.

After a team practice, Arenas made a $20,000 bet with fellow Washington Wizard DeShawn Stevenson. Arenas claimed he could make more shots from the college basketball three point distance (approximately 19.75 feet) with one hand than Stevenson could make professional level three-pointers (approximately 23.75 feet) using two hands. Out of 100 attempts, Arenas completed 73 shots. While Stevenson was taking his shots, Arenas attempted to distract him during nearly every shot attempt, including trying to do a street basketball trick involving falling on the floor, throwing another basketball in the air in front of Stevenson's path, throwing an invisible football, and mimicking shooting motions off to Stevenson's side, and break-dancing on the floor, among other acts. Stevenson needed to make his final ten shots just to tie, but only made his first five shots before missing his sixth (meaning Stevenson completed 68 of 96 attempts), leading to Arenas winning the bet and extravagantly celebrating. Arenas added "I hope this don't mess you up for tomorrow" as a parting shot while Stevenson left the court.[27]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Arenas

The section called Gilbertology is hilarious. It's all the wacky things Gilbert has done put next to each other.

I don't know if there's an NBA player who would make me laugh more to be around than Gilbert.

He's a good player too when healthy. He's capable of playing toe to toe with the best. He's proven that. And that gets my respect.


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## futuristxen

Can you imagine if Gilbert won an NBA title? I don't even know what would happen. Imagine if he was in like New York. He'd be the most beloved figure in basketball.


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## Krstic All-Star

^ If he were in NY, Isiah would screw him up...


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## croco

I enjoy reading his blog, but he has absolutely no business talking about contract situations of other players, not one iota.


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## Adam

Krstic All Star said:


> ^ Did you read the blog? I posted the section in this thread. Arenas called him a secondary player.


I did read the blog. Did you? I find it hard to believe you could read the actual blog and totally miss the spirit of the article.

He was listing tons of young guys and how they turned down 12/10 million because they wanted 1 or 2 million more. He pointed out how Jameer Nelson wanted Devin Harris Money. He was saying how these guys should be thrilled to get 12 million from where they came from and how their parents would whoop their behinds for turning down that money. He said how you can get injured and get nothing and pointed out Joe Smith and Samaki Walker and Latrell Sprewell and Anderson Varejao all turning down money and losing a combined $200 million.

To the subject of Iggy: Arenas only wrote those remarks to say why he has no business turning down $12 million. He didn't right them to "call him out." That's why it was taken out of context. He was saying why should a player who is a second option turn down 12 million. He basically "called him out" to say he shouldn't turn down 12 million. He wasn't trying to say he was a bad player.

He also called him Pippen, so any disingenuous journalist could right the article, "Arenas thinks Iggy is Pippen," quote him where he says that he is a guy every team needs, a great glue guy, Pippen, and there's an article where Arenas is praising Iggy. Again, this would be out of context because Arenas was only using comparisons and criticisms to say why you don't turn down 12 million.


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## The lone wolf

croco,

Why not - what's the point of having a blog if you are just going to say "both teams played hard"


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## Krstic All-Star

Let's break down what Arenas said about Igoudala very simply. 

He said that Igoudala should take the offered $12 million because he's a secondary player - and deserves $12 million. Whether you agree with it or disagree with the assessment, Arenas was calling Igoudala a secondary player. You can't get around that without putting blinders on.


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## futuristxen

croco said:


> I enjoy reading his blog, but he has absolutely no business talking about contract situations of other players, not one iota.


And you do? Get out of here. If anything he has more of a right than anybody on this board. And we talk about it all the time.


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## Adam

Krstic All Star said:


> Let's break down what Arenas said about Igoudala very simply.
> 
> He said that Igoudala should take the offered $12 million because he's a secondary player - and deserves $12 million. Whether you agree with it or disagree with the assessment, Arenas was calling Igoudala a secondary player. You can't get around that without putting blinders on.


The difference of opinion lies in the fact that you believe this means that he is "calling him out." Do you get that?

He gave examples of why you don't turn down 12 million just because you see a guy out there making 14 million. What if you get hurt and get nothing?

Iguodala isn't Kobe. He doesn't deserve Kobe money and that's what Arenas was saying. If you read the blog you would have seen that he told the story of Okafor asking for Dwight Howard money even though he isn't Dwight Howard. He said Okafor should be happy with 12 million instead of 14 million. He implied the same situation for Iguodala by mentioning Pippen. He said he's Pippen and not Jordan. I should make a jayisthebest mock thread to this called "Arenas praises Iguodala" for calling him Pippen.


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## croco

The lone wolf said:


> croco,
> 
> Why not - what's the point of having a blog if you are just going to say "both teams played hard"


He has had pretty good blog entries without getting personal which I consider talking about the contract situation of other players. It's not that there is nothing he could blog about besides turning down lucrative offers. It doesn't really matter if you are a respected superstar a role player or just one of many players in the league, you should never talk about contracts and money of other players.


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## futuristxen

Anyways. Iggy IS a secondary player. Does anyone actually disagree with Arenas? Iggy has had his chance with AI gone, and he has proven he doesn't have IT. And hes not gonna get it. So let's not fool ourselves.


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## futuristxen

croco said:


> you should never talk about contracts and money of other players.


Why not? It's public domain. That's just an arbitrary rule you made up.


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## Adam

croco said:


> you should never talk about contracts and money of other players.


That's dumb. Especially with the recent situation with Andy in Cleveland.

Arenas sees Deng turning down 12 million because he wants 14 million and Okafor turning down 12 million because he wants 14 million. Arenas sees that and is saying, 'are you guys idiots? You're risking everything just for a couple million because of your stubborn pride and you want as much as somebody else? Don't look at others and just get your own money.'

I guess Arenas doesn't want to see one of these guys turn into Jay Williams and end up with nothing. Yeah, Arenas is a real jerk for caring.


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## croco

futuristxen said:


> And you do? Get out of here. If anything he has more of a right than anybody on this board. And we talk about it all the time.


No, the difference is that I'm not a millionaire and not a player in the NBA. What is the point of Arenas talking about the money of another player when he isn't even on the same team and when he is the one opting out after the season to make more money ? Please.


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## King Sancho Fantastic

> You know how I always throw my jersey into the stands after a game? In Washington, they just go crazy for it. So in this commercial, that's what I'm gonna do with my shoes. I've just hit a game winner, and I throw these shoes. Everyone starts to react, and you see everything in slow motion. Everyone's pushing, shoving, doing whatever it takes to try to get to these shoes. People from the 400 level, they're jumping off the ledge, they're missing the pile, hitting nothing but chairs, and you can just see in people's faces like, Ooooh, that hurt. While all this stuff's going on, one of the shoes pops out of the crowd, and a little girl gets it and she takes off. A couple of people see she has it, and they start chasing her, and she's looking back running—and then she gets clotheslined by a kid in a wheelchair. So he picks the shoe up and says—he's gonna have the only line in there—"They said I couldn't get it. Heh. Impossible is nothing." And then he rolls off


Gilbert's commercial

:lol:


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## The lone wolf

croco said:


> He has had pretty good blog entries without getting personal which I consider talking about the contract situation of other players. It's not that there is nothing he could blog about besides turning down lucrative offers. It doesn't really matter if you are a respected superstar a role player or just one of many players in the league, you should never talk about contracts and money of other players.


At least, it gets some press and some discussion among fans - possibly increases rivalry - more interest the next time these 2 meet.. For all we know, arenas and igoudala might have spoken and cleared things.


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## Krstic All-Star

adam said:


> The difference of opinion lies in the fact that you believe this means that he is "calling him out." Do you get that?
> 
> He gave examples of why you don't turn down 12 million just because you see a guy out there making 14 million. What if you get hurt and get nothing?
> 
> Iguodala isn't Kobe. He doesn't deserve Kobe money and that's what Arenas was saying. If you read the blog you would have seen that he told the story of Okafor asking for Dwight Howard money even though he isn't Dwight Howard. He said Okafor should be happy with 12 million instead of 14 million. He implied the same situation for Iguodala by mentioning Pippen. He said he's Pippen and not Jordan. I should make a jayisthebest mock thread to this called "Arenas praises Iguodala" for calling him Pippen.


And if I'd titled it "Arenas calls Igoudala a secondary player" that would solve your problems? 

No matter how you want to spin it, Arenas is making a value judgment about other players, and saying that they should accept contracts on the basis of his opinion of their worth. You can agree with it - easily in the case of Howard versus Okafor - or question it. 

Similarly, you could call it 'praise' except if one is familiar with the expression 'damning with faint praise' it may be recalled here. And he didn't just call him Pippen - he called him a second guy. 

Now go ahead and ask yourself how much Arenas thinks that he's worth and go from there.


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## croco

adam said:


> That's dumb. Especially with the recent situation with Andy in Cleveland.
> 
> Arenas sees Deng turning down 12 million because he wants 14 million and Okafor turning down 12 million because he wants 14 million. Arenas sees that and is saying, 'are you guys idiots? You're risking everything just for a couple million because of your stubborn pride and you want as much as somebody else? Don't look at others and just get your own money.'
> 
> I guess Arenas doesn't want to see one of these guys turn into Jay Williams and end up with nothing. Yeah, Arenas is a real jerk for caring.


Again, he is going to do the same thing when he is opting out after the season. It's double moral standards all over and he is not a 35 year old veteran talking who has seen and done it all. He is only 25 himself and acting up a bit too much. 

Maybe I would have less of a problem with his statement if he set the same standards for himself.


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## Piolo_Pascual

at any rate we all know arenas just wants attention.


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## Adam

Krstic All Star said:


> And if I'd titled it "Arenas calls Igoudala a secondary player" that would solve your problems?
> 
> No matter how you want to spin it, Arenas is making a value judgment about other players, and saying that they should accept contracts on the basis of his opinion of their worth. You can agree with it - easily in the case of Howard versus Okafor - or question it.
> 
> Similarly, you could call it 'praise' except if one is familiar with the expression 'damning with faint praise' it may be recalled here. And he didn't just call him Pippen - he called him a second guy.
> 
> Now go ahead and ask yourself how much Arenas thinks that he's worth and go from there.


With either title you are implying that Arenas is disparaging his game for the sake of disparagement. You're conveniently ignoring the fact that Arenas is valuing him in terms of contracts. He's calling him a "secondary player" for the purpose of contract valuation. You can imply that he is only criticizing his game without dollar signs in mind but that's taking the article out of context, so we will just have to agree to disagree.

I also love how people are admitting, "he's right but he shouldn't say it." Why not? What's wrong with voicing the truth? What are people so afraid of? Even Iguodala's mom knows that he is not a #1 player in this league. He isn't in the top 20 and shouldn't be paid in the top 10 like he wants. Big deal Arenas pointed it out.


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## Adam

croco said:


> Again, he is going to do the same thing when he is opting out after the season. It's double moral standards all over and he is not a 35 year old veteran talking who has seen and done it all. He is only 25 himself and acting up a bit too much.
> 
> Maybe I would have less of a problem with his statement if he set the same standards for himself.


I can guarantee you 100% that if he doesn't get a 14 million dollar offer he isn't going to hold out. He isn't going to turn down a max offer for a Kobe max offer either. Why would you think he would? This is the same guy who even said he may take a pay cut just to bring in more talent. However, with his injury I doubt he does that now.


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## John

BEEZ said:


> Honestly what has Arenas done in this league besides score alot of points and throw up a ton of shots? Im not happy with Iggy's play either but, I mean come one Arenas.


Hey, NBAlve 2008 created a "BUG" Move for him so that his fans can use that move countlessly to score 80 poins in a video game! What a loser!


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## Smez86

Gilbert Arenas is a hater.

The NBA is a capitalist business. You want more money, you go for it.

Andre has just as much right to ask for more money, just as Gilbert has the right to exit the playoffs in the second round every year.


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## futuristxen

Smez86 said:


> Gilbert Arenas is a hater.
> 
> The NBA is a capitalist business. You want more money, you go for it.
> 
> Andre has just as much right to ask for more money, just as Gilbert has the right to exit the playoffs in the second round every year.


Call me when Igdoula even MAKES the playoffs. I think they'd have to trade for Arenas to make that happen.

Sure Iggy has every right to ask for it. But Arenas has every right to call him an idiot. Spreewell is still holding out for his money. I would imagine his family has since died from starvation though so he may have lowered his price.

Arenas' point is that it's risky to turn down a good offer just because it's 1 or 2 million short. Just because you are looking at what other people are making. It can seriously cost you a lot of money. Just ask Samaki Walker and Joe Smith, both examples Arenas cites.

I mean, is Luol Deng doing anything but losing himself money this year? And nobody is paying Igdoula 14 million. No one except the Sixers would be that dumb.


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## Smez86

So then should Iguodala call out Brian Skinner for being a low end bench player? I mean, he has the right to, but it wouldn't make it any less stupid or pointless. It's like talking just to hear your own voice, no matter how inane it is.


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## The lone wolf

Smez86 said:


> So then should Iguodala call out Brian Skinner for being a low end bench player? I mean, he has the right to, but it wouldn't make it any less stupid or pointless. It's like talking just to hear your own voice, no matter how inane it is.


if skinner turns down, lets say 15 mil for 5 years - then yes.


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## Tragedy

Krstic All Star said:


> ^ Did you read the blog? I posted the section in this thread. Arenas called him a secondary player.


I agree with Arenas. I don't think he means secondary player as in terms of the normal secondary players in the league, but a second tier star. He's not a franchise feature player. You find a player better to put ahead of him and you will do wonders. You don't build with Iggy as the main guy. I agree.


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## Smez86

I never got why people were always bothered by what other people are doing. I could understand if Gilbert was comparing to raise his own salary (judging market value), but to say someone is not _worth_ something? That's dumb. It's none of his business.

And to say he's trying to "care" for the players is laughable. If he was really concerned about them and how they got out of bad situations, he would be wanting them to pursue the best that they can attain, which they should.

FYI, Brian Skinner is making about 5 mill per for doing pretty much nothing.


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## The lone wolf

Smez86 said:


> FYI, Brian Skinner is making about 5 mill per for doing pretty much nothing.


bah - http://www.hoopshype.com/salaries/phoenix.htm


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## Smez86

Bah. I'm awfully sorry. He was 5/$25 prior to this year, back when he was an all-star putting up 30 ppg.


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## Diable

I guess we could ask Gilbert why the Wizards have performed much better without him than with him.I realize the guy's entitled to his opinion and so forth,but at some point he needs to worry about his own problems.This isn't any of his business


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## futuristxen

Diable said:


> I guess we could ask Gilbert why the Wizards have performed much better without him than with him.I realize the guy's entitled to his opinion and so forth,but at some point he needs to worry about his own problems.This isn't any of his business


No they haven't. When they had him they were the second best team in the East last year, and looked like they instead of Cleveland could have made that playoff run. Or are you talking about this season and how an injured Gil looked with a rusty early season Wizards team?


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## Krstic All-Star

I'm still undecided about Igoudala's ultimate status. Iverson was traded, but Miller came in. Even now, Igoudala is averaging something like a shot or so more than Miller, and two or so more than Green, if memory serves. How much is he really being asked to do offensively that he's not doing?


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## Tragedy

And that plays a part. He's not assertive enough. Who the hell is Willie Green to be shooting close to what Iggy shoots? Miller is miller. Never been a star and never will be


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## dwade3

Gilbert single-handedly won 4 or 5 games for the wiz last season, he dropped 60 on kobes 45, he's led the team to victories on numerous occasions, they are generally a more successful team with him (although they are travelling well without him atm), he calls out Iggy to maybe motivate him? to prove his critics rong? or he simply is tellin the truth, you cannot have a winning team, with your leading scorer providing you with 19ppg....thats second fiddle type scoring on a mediocre-good team....


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## f22egl

Diable said:


> I guess we could ask Gilbert why the Wizards have performed much better without him than with him.I realize the guy's entitled to his opinion and so forth,but at some point he needs to worry about his own problems.This isn't any of his business


The Wizards could be a 50 win team with a healthy Arenas. They improved with addition by subtraction (Jarvis Hayes, Michael Ruffin, and Etan Thomas), Brendan Haywood is playing like a man (9 double doubles this year; more than he had last season), the emergence of Andray Blatche (averaging 7 ppg, 5 rpg, and 2 blocks per game), a healthy Darius Songialia, and simply shooting guards coming off the bench with Roger Mason and Nick Young. And even with Caron Butler playing out of his mind, the Wizards are still not a better team than they were last year, who were leading the Eastern Conference with wins before the team got hit with the injury.

Caron Butler has been getting better from year to year while Jamison is doing his thing. Plus they look a lot better because Miami has looked so bad up to this point. The question will it be sustainable in the long run.


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## f22egl

As for Iguodala, he's not going to get less than $12 million on the open market anyways IMO. Some team might get crazy in the offseason and offer him more money than he deserves (see Larry Hughes).


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## Prolific Scorer

*Iggy is a team player, and also plays both sides of the court.

Of course he isn't like Arenas, he doesn't disrupt a team's offense / Chemestry.

At least Iggy didn't sit on the bench his first year in the L. :lol:

At least he wasn't a 2nd round draft pick. :yay:

The fact is, Iggy is playing good basketball right now while Arenas is at home cheating people for rank on Halo 3. *


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## futuristxen

Prolific Scorer said:


> *Iggy is a team player, and also plays both sides of the court.
> 
> Of course he isn't like Arenas, he doesn't disrupt a team's offense / Chemestry.
> 
> At least Iggy didn't sit on the bench his first year in the L. :lol:
> 
> At least he wasn't a 2nd round draft pick. :yay:
> 
> The fact is, Iggy is playing good basketball right now while Arenas is at home cheating people for rank on Halo 3. *


At least Gil has been to the second round of the playoffs.

At least Gil has challenged for the scoring lead.

At least Gil can make an all-star team.

At least Gil is going to get paid way more than Iggy.

At least Gil is a cult hero.

At least Gil can write a compelling blog.

At least Gil can kick Iggy's butt on Halo 3 and in basketball.


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## SickGame

futuristxen said:


> At least Gil has been to the second round of the playoffs.
> 
> At least Gil has challenged for the scoring lead.
> 
> At least Gil can make an all-star team.
> 
> At least Gil is going to get paid way more than Iggy.
> 
> At least Gil is a cult hero.
> 
> At least Gil can write a compelling blog.
> 
> At least Gil can kick Iggy's butt on Halo 3 and in basketball.


fact

fact

fact

fact

fact

fact

fact

But seriously, no one here doubts that Iggy is a good player. But to dispute he is anything but a second fiddle to a franchise player is slightly ridiculous. He's a great team player and he's a great facilitator, but I would hope that no franchise truly believes that he is the face of a franchise and can take a team to the promise land. He just doesn't have "IT," that very "IT" that you would find in Lebron, Kobe, Pierce, Dirk, Baron etc... . He's just not the guy who you expect to be that cult figure of the franchise, that very face that defines the team.
So in that sense, he's right.

Secondly, he makes a good point about players holding out for money. I also feel that it's just as big of a criticism towards the way sports are run these days than anything else. Salaries keep on skyrocketing as more and more players holdout and ask for more money from billionaires who have too much as it is. It has polluted the game and other sports with players such as A-Rod, Ray Emery and Jamarcus Russell (taking examples for other sports). Hold-outs are the most ridiculous part of sports today, and it was something that wasn't so presistent and consistent an era ago.

Finally, Gilbert Arenas is a fresh addition to a somewhat mundane league. Players like him make the game fun due to their eccentric nature, which isn't a threat to anyone at all. In a day where most leagues are overrun with either mundane forgettable players or thugs, players such as Gilbert Arenas or, let's say, Clinton Portis is a welcome addition. These guys are good hearted individuals that not only play the sport with passion and love, they are also fun to watch off the court. Remember, the sport is now just as much about the market, the business, the PR than the actual performance itself. He does a brilliant job at excelling at both and does it in a way where it is not a nuissance, not a threat nor tacky.


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## futuristxen

Iggy would be a good player for the Lakers to put next to Kobe. One would think.


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## futuristxen

But I think his defense needs to improve. He should be as good a defender as Artest, but he's really not. That end of his play is slightly overrated. He needs to get that level up if he wants to be anyone's Pippen. Othewise he's just a short guy with talent and athleticism who doesn't know what to do with it.


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## O2K

Gilbert has a right to voice his opinion whenever he wants. Half the people in the thread are pissed at Gil for saying the same things that everyone on this board says. Would people get mad if he said "Rashard Lewis is overpaid?" yet there is a whole thread dedicated to Lewis' getting a hefty paycheck. Why can't Arenas say the same things we say? Only because he's actually in the league? Arenas has IT. When healthy he is a top 10 player. You guys can be happy with the typical cookie cutter responses and blogs from other athletes and celebrities, I'll take Arenas over any of them. Atleast Arenas can be entertaining while injured, which is more than can be said for 95% of the athletes out there.


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## BEEZ

Sliccat said:


> he's done about as much as that guy in your avatar.


Negative


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## Prolific Scorer

futuristxen said:


> At least Gil has been to the second round of the playoffs.
> 
> At least Gil has challenged for the scoring lead.
> 
> At least Gil can make an all-star team.
> 
> At least Gil is going to get paid way more than Iggy.
> 
> At least Gil is a cult hero.
> 
> At least Gil can write a compelling blog.
> 
> At least Gil can kick Iggy's butt on Halo 3 and in basketball.



*At least Iggy isn't on his way to his 4th microfracture :lol:

At least Iggy doesn't guarantee victories and droppin 50 points only to go out there and get proven wrong in both aspects.

I didn't mean to offend you. *


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## futuristxen

Prolific Scorer said:


> *At least Iggy isn't on his way to his 4th microfracture :lol:
> 
> At least Iggy doesn't guarantee victories and droppin 50 points only to go out there and get proven wrong in both aspects.
> 
> I didn't mean to offend you. *


Iggy doesn't have the confidence in himself to guarantee a victory, let alone do much to achieve one.

At least Arenas has the fundementals that even if he loses his athleticism he can stay on just on his craftiness and shooting. Iggy if he lost his athleticism would be out of the league.


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## Smez86

Nobody said Gilbert didn't have the right to say it. Everybody has the right to say something. Everybody has the right to say that that "something" is stupid and unprofessional as well.


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## Prolific Scorer

futuristxen said:


> Iggy doesn't have the confidence in himself to guarantee a victory, let alone do much to achieve one.
> 
> At least Arenas has the fundementals that even if he loses his athleticism he can stay on just on his craftiness and shooting. Iggy if he lost his athleticism would be out of the league.


*Yeah right, Arenas is so crafty....he's a chucker now, and I could just imagine how much more he'd chuck without any real athleticism.*


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## rainman

O2K said:


> Gilbert has a right to voice his opinion whenever he wants. Half the people in the thread are pissed at Gil for saying the same things that everyone on this board says. Would people get mad if he said "Rashard Lewis is overpaid?" yet there is a whole thread dedicated to Lewis' getting a hefty paycheck. Why can't Arenas say the same things we say? Only because he's actually in the league? Arenas has IT. When healthy he is a top 10 player. You guys can be happy with the typical cookie cutter responses and blogs from other athletes and celebrities, I'll take Arenas over any of them. Atleast Arenas can be entertaining while injured, which is more than can be said for 95% of the athletes out there.


Gilbert has the right to say it under the 1st ammendment and that's about it. If he was at all concerned about the individual he could have called him on the phone and not let it get into the media. Arenas is a an attention whore who will say anything to come off looking as some kind of an authority on something, i personally think he has a screw loose upstairs and should just keep his mouth shut.


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## Coatesvillain

croco said:


> That doesn't make much sense either since Pippen was clearly a better player than Mr. Hibachi will most likely ever be.


That's not what Arenas is saying.

What he's saying is Iguodala isn't a franchise guy. Many people, especially moi, believed that he would come out and become a star player. He just doesn't have that mentality. I don't think Arenas is knocking him when he's saying it, he's just stating the facts.

The only reason the Iguodala/Pippen comparison falls short is because Pippen proved at a point that he was capable of leading a team to the post season. There were things he had psychologically that allowed him to do that. Iguodala isn't built that way, he's more like an AK47 type. He'll do a bunch of things, fill the stat sheet, be an impressive fantasy player on a bad team.. but the team potential going through him is limited. His versatility results in him being overrated as a player, and especially as a defender.


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## croco

Coatesvillain said:


> That's not what Arenas is saying.
> 
> What he's saying is Iguodala isn't a franchise guy. Many people, especially moi, believed that he would come out and become a star player. He just doesn't have that mentality. I don't think Arenas is knocking him when he's saying it, he's just stating the facts.
> 
> The only reason the Iguodala/Pippen comparison falls short is because Pippen proved at a point that he was capable of leading a team to the post season. There were things he had psychologically that allowed him to do that. Iguodala isn't built that way, he's more like an AK47 type. He'll do a bunch of things, fill the stat sheet, be an impressive fantasy player on a bad team.. but the team potential going through him is limited. His versatility results in him being overrated as a player, and especially as a defender.


I agree with that, he has proven that he is not a franchise player, but neither has Arenas so far if we are talking about accomplishments. Unfortunately Iguodala has proven that he is not a scorer in the way to take over games when he needs to, he will be on and off because he is asked to do more than he can. This results in too many turnovers for one and low shooting percentages because his shot is very inconsistent and his handle is somewhat suspect despite the flashy passes and the versatility. 

And I never like it when someone gets compared to Pippen because it takes away of how great Pippen really was in his prime.


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## ray_allen_20

Don't get me wrong, nobody hates Gilbert Arenas more than I do, but he wasn't taking a shot at iggy. He was simply saying that iggy isn't the go to guy, he's more of a glue type player. He even compared him to Scottie pippen.


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## BEEZ

futuristxen said:


> Iggy doesn't have the confidence in himself to guarantee a victory, let alone do much to achieve one.
> 
> At least Arenas has the fundementals that even if he loses his athleticism he can stay on just on his craftiness and shooting. Iggy if he lost his athleticism would be out of the league.


Are you serious?


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## ballocks

it's refreshing to see a player willing to share his honest thoughts on a fellow alum, good _or_ bad (or anywhere in between). personally, i'm sick of players who went to the same school sticking up for each other _because_ they went to the same school. that logic/bias has run its course with me. it's terribly frustrating. whether they're good or bad or otherwise has absolutely nothing to do with where you went to school and/or where they went to school. orangemen and tar heels are generally the worst at this sort of thing, but i think the problem is widespread these days.

just be honest, simple as that. partisan opinions offer nothing to the world.

i applaud gilbert for saying what he says. i don't always agree with him but that's my problem. his honesty and candour is refreshing and worthy of respect. keep it up, gil.

peace


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## captainobvious

futuristxen said:


> Anyways. Iggy IS a secondary player. Does anyone actually disagree with Arenas? Iggy has had his chance with AI gone, and he has proven he doesn't have IT. And hes not gonna get it. So let's not fool ourselves.


He's proven he doesn't have "IT" ?
Sure, I guess one season and no supporting cast will really tell volumes about a young player, right?
Thats a great comment. Putting up 20 and playing solid defense, while having no other valid scoring options besides your PG.
I can tell sir, that you know alot about the game. Thanks for sharing.


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## captainobvious

While I think he is a good player and an intriguing personality,
Perhaps Gil should focus on practice instead of other players contracts. 


Arenas 2006-2007 .418% .844%FT 4.6RBD 6.0AST 28.4PTS 20.9FGA .351%3PT
Arenas 2007-2008 *.387%* *.753%FT* 4.4RBD 5.9AST 22.4PTS 17.8FGA *.212%3PT*


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## croco

You shouldn't compare those numbers, he was hurt when he played those few games at the start of the season.


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## HB

Does Gil ever criticize his own game? Wonder why I havent seen any comments from him about his team doing pretty well without him in the lineup.


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## Sliccat

HB said:


> Does Gil ever criticize his own game? Wonder why I havent seen any comments from him about his team doing pretty well without him in the lineup.


because you can't read. He already talked about it.


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