http://www.nba.com/blog/gilbert_arenas.html
Don't Worry Wizards Fans, I'm Not Going Anywhere
Opting Out is a Business Decision
What is hard for anybody else to understand besides people in the NBA industry to understand that, on my contract, it’s basically the same thing that Ben Wallace did but without the trade and the same thing that Chauncey is doing.
The NBA allows a 12.5 percent increase on what you make. So for any player who is making the max, all they do is extend. They get the extension and get the 12.5 percent increase on what they already make.
Now, if you don’t make the max money but you become a max player during the time frame of your original contract, you have to opt out to get the max money.
When I signed my original deal, I believed that I would become a max player so I had a player’s option. So, I make 11 and 12 million the next two years and then the extension would put me at 12.5, 13, 14 in the three years of the extension. The part that I got frustrated about the extension was that I have to play next year at that figure no matter what and then if I extend, all I’m getting is four years guaranteed. But, if I opt out after next year, I’ll have six years guaranteed because I’ll sign a whole new six year contract.
So at the end of the day, it will be a six-year deal instead of a four-year deal and instead of starting at 12.5 or 13 million, I’ll be starting at 14 or 15 million and I’ll be a max player.
This has nothing to do with me leaving or trying to look for other teams. I have to do it:
1. To get more years and
2. To increase my pay.
It’s the same thing Chauncey was doing. Chauncey was getting paid four to five million dollars in his contract, and if he extends he’s only going to make 12.5 percent on that amount, which will put him at six million or so. But, if he opts out of that contract, he could possibly start at 10.
It’s a little loophole that they might fix in five years.
It was the same thing with Ben Wallace. Ben Wallace was like, “Well, I’m only making three million and I’m worth max. Why am I going to extend? That’s pointless. Instead of being increased to four million, I can go out and get paid 14 million.”
The extension only works with the players that are making max money already. Like if Antawn says, “I’m signing an extension,” you say, “OK,” because he makes 17 million. So he goes 18, 19, 20 in his three years. If Antawn says, “I’m opting out to sign a new deal,” you say, “You’re crazy,” because he’s already making 17 million.
If a max player opts out of his deal there are only two reasons he could be doing it:
1. He’s leaving
2. He’s trying to sign another six-year deal. He don’t want three years. He wants another six. Meaning that that’s most likely going to be his last six.
Like Vince Carter, he’s opting out because he wants to sign another six-year, max deal. He don’t want to sign a three-year extension.
This becomes like football. You try to get the most years out of what you can do.
This is going to be the last thing I do. I know my history and I don’t want to make the same mistake that Miami almost made about seven years ago with the Juwan Howard thing when Miami decided to sign Howard before they signed their own player, Alonzo.
If the league would have let them sign Howard to the $100 million contract he was going to sign, they wasn’t going to be able to afford Alonzo. But if they would have signed Alonzo first and then signed Howard, they would have had them both.
My situation is flip-flopped.
I want to make sure that they get all the people they can get before I sign my deal because if I sign first and then eat up all the money, then we can’t get anybody.
If I let them pick out who they’re going to pick, like get the draftees and sign the free agents, the money will still be there.
Abe Pollin believed in me after Michael Jordan. He told me that I was the guy he wanted to build around after Jordan was gone. I’m a loyal player.
I don’t have an agent. My counsel is myself. I just go through all the rules and read up on stuff. I just sit there and read stuff that happened in the past and why things didn’t work out and why things are the way they are.
Rehab Update
I finally ran for the first time. You ever seen a three-legged dog run? I’m just a little bit better than that.
But I looked good doing it. I had on all my adidas gear, had on the Gil Zeros, you know.
My shot was still there. That’s all that matters to me, as long as I can shoot the ball.
I started running over the weekend. That was my first time running. Now I’m all good, running like a stallion again.
But still, if you were better on a horse race I’d get 100-to-1 odds.
Overall I’m at about 65 percent.
Bicycle Built for Zero
I had to get motion back in my legs and get the strength back up so I’ve been biking probably about 18 miles every two to three days.
Me and my trainer have been doing it for the past three summers.
My fear that I was having was falling, that was my biggest fear – falling on my leg. Wouldn’t you know, we were riding on the freeway and I had to get off and go on the pike towards the airport and Crystal City. The people behind me were too close so I couldn’t break and I had to just jump the curb going at least 15 miles an hour.
Whoo! That wasn’t a pretty sight. I had grass stains and all sorts of stuff. I fell on my good leg so it was nothing to worry about. All the cars were stopping and asking, “You alright?” I was like, “Yeah, you know, my ego is hurt but that’s about it.”
I wasn’t wearing a bike helmet. The only people who wear bike helmets are 13-year old girls and Tony Hawk, but that’s skateboarding and he’s doing flips and stuff. I’m going straight. Ha, well I guess I did end up doing a flip off my bike, but it wasn’t a planned one.
Some people recognize me. Sometimes they’ll be shocked like, “Was that him?! I think it was! Why is he riding a bike?!”
Or they’ll just wave. One time I was riding along this street and a bus went by and all the kids on the bus seen me. So, we were going down hill and I was actually moving with the bus, so anytime the bus stops, I’m going past the kids. What happened was, once the bus got about three exits in front of me, the kids all got off. So when I came they stopped me for autographs and then waited for the next bus to come and got on that one.
Finals Thoughts
I caught the game on Tuesday because I had the Cavs winning Game 3. Like most people are saying, I think the series has been pretty boring. You have two grind-it-out teams. But it’s good. I get to see Larry Hughes play in the championship, LeBron play in the championship, you get to see if “The Mouth,” Damon Jones, can get some time. You also get to see Tony Parker, who I’m good friends with, most likely win his third championship and maybe even the MVP.
Larry Hughes Still Wears Wizards Practice Shorts
You know what’s funny about stuff like that? All players do that for some reason. You’ll catch Caron wearing Lakers shorts or Miami shorts. That’s just what players do. It’s just a pair of shorts. Throughout the year I’ve seen DeShawn Stevenson wear Utah shorts and Magic shorts and I’ve worn Golden State clothing from time to time. Since you collect it, you just end up wearing it.
Action Packed Summer
My team Final Boss won, so that was good. I inherited a dynasty. Now I’ve talked to the league of MLG and they’re going to make me the first owner. So I get to be Jerry West, Abe Pollin and Mark Cuban without all of the antics. I’m going to be the owner in an upcoming sport. It’s going to be good for me.
Right now I’m booking my trip to Tahiti with the family. We leave Monday from Los Angeles. I’m in Washington now so I’m going to workout until then and fly out to Tahiti for a week. I’m going to try not to get hurt or eaten by any sharks or stabbed in the chest by any stingrays.
I’m a beach person, but it depends on if there are any sharks in the water. If there are sharks in the water, then I’m a pool person. I already asked them. The place I’m staying in is actually in the water. The rooms are little floating bungalows in the water so I can actually jump out the front door and start swimming. This is my first time ever taking a big vacation so I’m excited.
I’m contemplating on a Reality TV show. I might do one this summer if ESPN will pick it up. I don’t want to be on BET because then I won’t be on regularly. If you look at their reality shows like the one Vince Young did, it’s not an eye-catcher. So if ESPN picks it up, I might consider it. That’s for this summer and then I have one next summer and it’s going to be the business side of me and that should be funny because I don’t know anything about business so I’m going to sound like Paris Hilton or Jessica Simpson. I mean, I’m not going to sound like, “Do buffalo wings come from buffaloes?” There ain’t going to be any comments like that, but for business people, I’m going to sound like a straight idiot.
I’m going to be trying to close business deals and stuff. I thought about it and I was like, “I can make a reality show funny because I have the friends to do it, but I don’t want to go out of my way to make a series funny and have it be a flop.” I’m not worried about the privacy factor because mine will be more scheduled. Like, if I want to go to Tahiti, I’ll bring my funniest friends and just make it funny and show them what every other summer looks like for me.
We talked to the people who want to use me and we’re like, if we can get them then we’ll think about it. But I’m not guaranteeing anything.
I’m writing a book.
It ain’t going to be the T.O. “I Need My Ball” or whatever that book was called. It ain’t going to be the Phil Jackson book. Mine is going to be more like Chicken Soup for the Soul. Mine is going to be like that with more funny stuff. It’s going to be hilarious.
Stuff like, “If you’re a No. 1 or No. 2 pick, why do you need an agent?” Reality stuff like that. You might as well just give your money to Vegas because that’s all you’re doing with the agent, you’re just giving it to him. Because you’re the No. 1 or No. 2 pick, point blank, you don’t need an agent. It’s a slotted system now. It’s not like you’re Glenn Robinson coming out saying “Give me $100 million.” You can’t do that anymore.
So it’s going to be mostly funny stuff like that. Attacking people, attacking the system, attacking critics … stuff like that.
Starting a Rumor
I had seen Melo in our arena. Carmelo is doing a documentary of him working out for the Olympics back in D.C. When I saw him, for some weird reason I thought he was traded to us. I wish. He’s going to be in D.C. for about two weeks working out before he goes back to Denver. He works hard.
Arenas: I'm Not Going Anywhere
