I took some time out today to have a conversation with Kyle from Truth About It and Bullets Forever, two Washington Wi**rds blogs, or if you are like me, and wish they'd go back to being the Bullets, Washington Bullets blogs.
Below you will find Kyle's responses to our questions. You can find our responses to his questions over at Truth About It
via www.nba.com
- I've heard more than one person complain on TV or radio about Agent Zero being selfish for the money he got. I do not understand why his giving back money and taking less didn't get more press. It should have been a front page new story. Only Tim Duncan and Arenas have done this in a big way before. We at The Dream Shake are HUGE Agent Zero fans by the way. We've been calling you the Wi**rds since you had no AZ on the court. So, my questions are: A. Why wasn't it a bigger deal? B. What's your take on his injuries and his ability to come back from them C. Why isn't he more respected around the league as a basketball player? He gets his teammates involved and it is obvious they like playing with him.
I think Arenas taking less money got it's fair share of press here in DC, but the difference is that when Tim Duncan did it, he already had several championships under his belt. Arenas hasn't been able to lead his team past the 2nd round of the playoffs. This may have been a factor in it not being as big of a deal on a national scale, but the 'less-is-more' contract was also quickly overshadowed by Arenas' rehab issues and subsequent third knee surgery, which caught everyone in Wizards Nation by surprise.
I think Gil can come back with similar scoring ability (it's wait-and-see on if he can still explode to the basket and earn trips to the free-throw line), but hopefully he's also learned to be more of a distributor.
Respect? Well, winning earns respect. But he also needs to mature. Speaking of knee injuries.....the nature of how his latest announcement went down had me pretty pissed at the time. Arenas is a helluva marketer with his blog and all, but when he makes silly claims about not voting, and then backtracks by saying it was all a joke, people see him as more of a side-show clown than a respected individual.
All that being said, I still got love for Arenas, and am glad you guys do too. Re-signing him was the right move and I cannot wait until he returns to the court. +1 on the Wi**rds thing....I like that. -
Tell the "Truth About It", you hate the Wizards moniker and want them to be the Bullets again, right? Can you explain to me how Bullets is a bad name for a team?
I would love for the team to revert back to the Bullets....but it's not gonna happen while owner Abe Pollin is alive and kicking. The Bullets name was inspired by a local WWII ammunition casting factory back when the team was playing in Bodymore, Murderland. After 34 years, Pollin decided to change the team name, using the violent overtones of bullets as an excuse. However, it's my belief that Pollin did so because the change would provide him with a nice financial boon as the result of re-branding and jersey sales in conjunction with moving from Landover, Maryland to a fresh new arena in downtown Chinatown DC in 1997.
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Where do Jamison, Butler and Arenas rank among Big 3's in the league when healthy?
It's tough because I almost can't remember what it's like to see those three play together. I don't want to get into rankings, but when (if) healthy, I think the Big Three of the Wizards can be in the same conversation (perhaps a step below) with these Triumvirates (assuming health on their part too): LAL: Kobe, Gasol, Bynum/Odom; BOS: KG, Ray-Ray, Pierce; HOU: T-Mac, Yao, Artest; NOH: CP3, West, Chandler/Peja; CLE: Bron, Mo', Big Z; SAS: Manu, Parker, Duncan; and a step above these threesomes: DET: Iverson, Hamilton, 'Sheed; UTH: Williams, Boozer, AK-47; DAL: Kidd, Howard, Dirk; ORL: Howard, Lewis, Hedo; PHL: Miller, 'Dala, Brand; PHO: Shaq, Nash, Amare.
- Given the talent on this team, is injuries the reason they haven't gotten it done and had extended playoff stands? Coaching? It doesn't seem to be a lack of desire.
Injuries is the reason first and foremost. I'm not ready to get rid of Eddie Jordan, even with this 1-8 start to the season. I think he's the right guy who meshes with the team personnel. In the past, the Wizards lacked a deep bench, something I thought would be a big plus going into this year before Arenas and Haywood went down. If all these guys can ever get on the court together, and a chance to gel, then watch out. But in the minds of Wizards fans, and our Curse O' Les Boulez, that's a gargantuan IF.