On December 11^th, I published an article about how the NBA was finally emerging from the dark period of the Artest mêlée and the league’s waning fan support. Then, just 13 days later, a story broke about the Wizards’ point-guard Gilbert Arenas and his gun debacle, which has since, sadly, become the biggest NBA story of the season. After a card game on the Wizards’ touring plane got out of hand, words were exchanged between Arenas and guard Javaris Crittenton. Crittenton threatened to shoot Arenas in his kneecap. A few days later, Arenas displayed three of his guns in the Wizards locker room and, in jest, asked Javaris to “pick one.”

As an avid NBA fan, it upsets me when anything like this happens, because all it does is bring bad press to the league, which I love like my own imaginary son. Though, if I had to choose between my imaginary son and the NBA, I would probably choose the NBA (don’t tell my imaginary wife). The NBA has long had public image problems and has recently taken steps to improve, instituting the controversial dress code for players on the bench (in large part due to Allen Iverson’s dress) and very harsh suspension rules for leaving your own bench (due to the aforementioned malice at the palace). Now prepare for another intense look at the rule book by commissioner David Stern.

After I was able to calm down, my anger at Gilbert turned to sadness, because if you read his recent tweets and look at his behavior, he just doesn’t get it. Most NBA players own guns, but guns are serious. Many NBA players come from less-than-nice areas of our country. When they return to their old neighborhoods everyone there knows exactly how much money they make. How do you think that makes them feel? Safe? There are rumors around the league that many players are quietly supporting Arenas’ suspension because the locker room is supposed to be a safe haven. Arenas crossed a line. Owning a gun is a right in this country, but it is a responsibility of gun owners to act with a certain level of self-awareness.

Gilbert Arenas was one of the most interesting and fun players in the NBA. He had a very fan-friendly game, a sweet nickname (Agent Zero), and is on Twitter more than Ashton Kutcher. His behavior as of late, in just the way he has been dealing with the media, makes me sad more than anything else. This picture has been one of the most incriminating, showing him in a team huddle making light of the whole issue. He has also been referring to himself as a “goofball,” as if that makes everything okay. Simply from a PR standpoint, even if he didn’t believe that he did anything wrong except tell a bad joke, there was definitely a way to deal with this situation so it would go away as quickly as possible.  Agent Zero did not choose the smart way out, and that’s bad, not only for himself, but for David Stern, the league, and the fans.

FALLOUT: This story has so many angles to it that its influence is going to be felt for a long while, and might even be a deciding factor in who wins the next few championships. Yes, it’s that important. I expect two main developments to occur.

1.  Player gambling has been a thorn in Stern’s side for twenty years, but for 15 millionaires spending hours on buses and planes, what else is there to do but play cards? There is an old NBA joke that there are only two reasons players fight: over women or over cards. There are those conspiracy theorists who believe Michael Jordan’s two-year stint in baseball was a cover-up for his gambling issues. Stern has quietly been trying for years to ban gambling among his players (while ironically trying to use public gambling to create more revenue for the suffering league). This may be the clincher he needs to put the kibosh on gambling during team travel once and for all (while postponing his legalization of public gambling on the NBA).

2.  The incident does have a silver lining for the Wizards. Arenas has one of the worst contracts in the league. Coming off two injury-plagued seasons, he was rewarded with a six-year $111 million dollar contract. With the Wizards underperforming, his contract only looked worse and was so huge that he was untradeable. The Wizards do, however, have moderately priced contracts with two exceptionally talented wingmen: Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison. For the past two years the Cleveland Cavaliers have been trying to acquire Jamison at the trade deadline, hoping the Wizards would be in rebuilding mode and therefore willing to break up their core – a scenario which seems to be happening. If the Wizards decide to void Arenas’ contract and start rebuilding, it is now more likely that they would trade Jamison to Cleveland for Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ expiring contract, which would provide the Cavs with a big player who can post up and who is currently shooting 37% from the three-point line. This would make Cleveland a very strong team. As a Knicks fan, this is my worst-case scenario, because if the Cavs suddenly become strong enough to beat Boston and LA and win the title, the chance that Lebron will come to New York falls immensely. So thanks a lot, Gilbert Arenas. You may have just ruined my chances of having a winning basketball team for once. I repeat, Why, Gilbert, Why?

Matthew Strickland is a senior at Drexel University. He studies English and Philosophy, and is anticipated to graduate in March of 2010.

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