NBA Free Agency: Move to Defcon 0?
Let me tell you a story.
Once upon a time, there was a man. In his youth, he had worked hard, schemed well, and defeated many enemies. He sat on the top of the mountain, and it seemed as if his name would be carved into legend. But as he aged, his great victories became history instead of news. His past began to taste sweeter than his present. His present mediocrity began to outweigh his legend.
Once upon a time, there was a man. The day he was born, he wanted nothing more than to fight. And though he had talent, others told him that while he may fight for a time, he would never be a great warrior, never be a conqueror, and he would never have any great victories. And he set out to prove them, all of them, wrong.
But his fire never waned. He was still a great conqueror, after all. His body was aged, but his mind was as sharp as ever. So he engineered one last run, a swan song, a way to exit on top of the world. And the world was shocked. Taking down a superior opponent for a great victory, he left the battlefield behind. He became an advisor, and left the battlefield to his champion, a warrior who took punishment after punishment and delivered nothing but killing blows.
The man became a fighter, a brash one. He moved from place to place, looking for someone to mold him into a warrior, until one day, he realized that his travels and trials had made him one. And as a warrior, he fought well and talked better, his brashness hiding his insecurity, and both being overshadowed by his ability.
But as an advisor, he held less sway. His soldiers aged and moved on to other places. His champion stayed, still absorbing punishment, but no longer returning the favor with the same ferocity. Whispers gathered about the champion moving to another army. So the advisor made a promise to his champion: Stay, and he would do his absolute best to re-fortify the army. And so the champion became an advocate, calling other soldiers to join him in his fight.
Then, one day, the warrior was gravely injured. His army moved on without him, as they had to do, and the warrior grieved. And in his recovery, he began to feel forgotten, out of touch with his fellow soldiers and the people he fought for. And as he remembered the hurt of his youth, he became more and more brash, to cover the loss of his ability. But his brashness, when not coupled with the ability he once held, began to turn people away from him. And one day, the warrior made a large mistake, one that turned the will of the people, and the will of his fellow soldiers, against him.
Until the champion’s childhood hometown wanted him to come home. They promised better soldiers, and more champions that would join him in his quest for more great victories. And the advisor could do naught but watch as his champion began to drift away from him, and towards home.
The warrior stopped fighting. What did he have left to fight for? None were on his side. And then, one day, his army, his team and his people placed their hope in a younger, less brash version of him. And the warrior could do naught but listen as the voices of his youth rang louder and louder in his head.
Pat Riley and Gilbert Arenas could not BE more different. If Dwayne Wade leaves Miami for Chicago, Riley has fewer than five guaranteed contracts on the roster, and no star for any of the 2010 Free Agent class to play with. And the Wizards’ drafting John Wall has made Agent 0 exponentially more expendable if they could get rid of his albatross of a contract. So where does this leave our advisor and our warrior?
It may be time for them to join forces. It may be time for Riley to go to Defcon 0, for him to move to Plan G.
Miami is one of the few teams that could absorb Gilbert’s contract, and still have room to go get two or even three second-tier free agents (Paging JJ Redick, Paging JJ Redick). Washington would do anything to get rid of Gilbert and his contract (the new ownership has be looking to clean out the mistakes of the previous regime). I’m sure Gilbert needs a new start, and would be receptive to beginning his NBA redemption in South Beach.
Of course, the grand, sweeping caveat; This is pure speculation and conjecture on my part, and is rendered all but useless if Wade returns to Miami.
But the literature lover in me can’t help but love the story: The back-stabbed executive and the disgraced player joining forces to restore their former glory? I’d like to see how that’d play out.
Lazarus Jackson is a writer and connoisseur of pro and college sports, especially Detroit-area pro teams. You can contact him at lazchancemsu@gmail.com or on Twitter at twitter.com/lazchance.
