Arenas Gives (Little) Back to Wizards

Call it a fulfilling a promise, helping his team or whatever else you would like.  As far as Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas' recent decision to sign for less than the maximum the Wizards offered him goes, I'll call it a PR move.  Not only that, I'll call it insignificant and, while a nice gesture in spirit, not nearly enough.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with Arenas as a person.  He's great in the community, entertaining off the court and has a great shot.  But, let's be honest, he's NOT a max deal-caliber player.  When signing or re-signing a player, you need to consider a few things.  Paramount among all of them are talent and health.  Arenas is talented but not the most talented, and we all know he's not the healthiest either.

The fact of the matter is that Arenas decided to "give back" $16 million.  Sounds good, except when you consider that it is over six years.  That's $2.66 million a year to help the team sign other players while he's still earning $18.5 million.  Research NBA salaries; $2-3 million doesn't get you much unless you add it to a mid-level exception.

If Arenas really wanted to make a statement and help his team he would have negotiated down to $90 million.  Not only would it have been more helpful by freeing up $6.16 million a year to improve the team, but he'd also be getting his fair market value.  However you slice it, $111 million over 6 years is overpaying for Arenas.

"(The Wizards) offered me the max, and I'm basically giving back $16 million," Arenas told the Washington Times. "This is in line with what I've been saying the whole time. You see players take max deals and they financially bind their teams. I don't wanna be one of those players and three years down the road your team is strapped and can't do anything about it."

"What can I do for my family with $127 million that I can't do with $111 million?"

What's going to happen when Arenas' knee doesn't hold up three years from now?  Is $18.5 million really any less binding than $21.16 million?  No, it's not, but $15 million sure as hell is less binding.  And what can Arenas do for his family with $111 million that he can't with $90 million?  It's not like he doesn't have financial planners and accountants who are going to grow that money.  Not to mention endorsements and six more years of being the face of a franchise.

I'm not saying it's not a nice gesture; it's just not enough of one.  If you want to help your team, get paid exactly what you deserve and give them the flexibility to actually improve.  Getting paid $111 million is fleecing the franchise, even if you're taking less than they originally offered.