Gilbert Arenas: Losing Weight and Rubio

Wizards guard bulking down to be the player he once was

By KYLE WEIDIE

Updated 4:46 PM EDT, Wed, Jun 10, 2009

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Getty: Chris McGrath

Gilbert Arenas "must" have the ball to be effective, right? Whether he's the old Agent Zero heating up the hibachi or the glimpse of Gilbert 2.0 we saw drop 20 assists against a single turnover in his only two late season appearances, it's the assumption that next year's offensive success is contingent on Arenas.

For these reasons, Spanish sensation Ricky Rubio, and his agent Dan Fegan, do not see Washington as a prime destination, as relayed by the WaPost's Michael Lee. Ricky, Gilbert and sharing the ball just don't go hand and hand (or, the agent Arenas fired to be his own, and the team Arenas plays for don't go hand and hand).

Good riddance Pete Maravich 2.0. Maybe your tune changes if D.C. has the second pick, but the Wizards are not sitting pretty at the five spot. Enjoy yourself in Sacramento or Oklahoma City, two teams sitting well behind Abe Pollin's eight-ball in the chase to get out of the lottery and into the championship contention.

Besides, if Flip Saunders' bunch has title aspirations, a skinny 19-year-old isn't the icing on the cake, especially if it means trading UP in the draft to get him.

Meanwhile, Gil puts in work in the summer heat of Florida, evidently having lost 20 pounds in the past month.

What does this mean? It does NOT mean the post-three-knee-surgery questions about what kind of player Arenas will be next season will come to a halt any time soon. Only consistent court time can put those queries to rest.

What this does mean is that Arenas, presumably, isn't ready to stop being the player he was: a threat to attack the basket with quickness and agility just as much as the threat of an unconscious sniper from long distance. Bulking down to ease the weight on a knee in purgatory doesn't hurt either.

There are still too many unknowns to count surrounding the Washington Wizards these days. But with Arenas keeping the lines of communication wide open with his new coach via personal workouts and text messages, it's so far so good for the month of June. And that's pretty much all Wizards fans can ask for at this point.

Kyle Weidie is a D.C. resident who writes Truth About It and contributes to Bullets Forever, both Washington Wizards blogs. Follow the latest Washington Wizards news on Tumblr.