Gilbert Arenas is pissed.

[alfdogg 0]

I had posted this in the USA thread, but after giving it some thought decided to give it its own thread.

 

Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas is frustrated about not being on the U.S. national team playing in the FIBA World Championship and said he believes he was not given a fair tryout.

 

When Arenas left the squad on Aug. 14, national team managing director Jerry Colangelo said it was because Arenas had an injured groin. But in his first comments since then, Arenas, the Wizards' leading scorer and a two-time all-star, said he didn't think he was going to make the 12-man roster and that the injury became an excuse to part ways.

 

"They already knew what they wanted. They said it was a tryout, but they already had their team selected," he said after playing in a Goodman Summer League game at Barry Farms Park in Southeast Washington on Tuesday night and showing no signs of the injury.

 

Arenas emphasized that he hopes to remain part of the national program and play in the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

 

In four pre-tournament tune-up games, Arenas made one start and averaged 3.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 11 minutes. He was fighting for playing time in a crowded back court that includes Chris Paul, Shane Battier, Kirk Hinrich and Joe Johnson. Paul and Hinrich played the majority of minutes at point guard, and the team is loaded with perimeter scorers such as Johnson, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony.

 

"No joke, I felt like I was the 16th man on a 15-man roster," Arenas said. "You are there to support your team and support your country and be happy to play but you know, I did everything they wanted me to do; but if I did everything they wanted me to do, why am I on the bubble of getting cut? I sacrificed. You've got LeBron being LeBron. You've got Carmelo being Carmelo. You've got D-Wade being D-Wade. Why can't I be me? Why do I have to transform? I did that and now you are going to cut me?"

 

Colangelo could not be reached for comment.

 

Arenas and San Antonio Spurs guard Bruce Bowen were the two players trimmed from the roster on Aug. 18. Arenas, Bowen and other national team players who are not participating in the world championship, including Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, are still eligible for future international competitions.

 

Arenas, who averaged a career-high 29.4 points a game last season , said he tried to blend in by playing off the ball at shooting guard, by carefully picking his spots on offense and by hustling on defense but said he sensed that he was not a part of Coach Mike Krzyzewski's plans, saying, "I think I was the only person he didn't talk to the whole time we were out there."

 

Krzyzewski, who will lead the national team through the Beijing Olympics, said he faced a difficult choice in reducing the roster from 14 to 12 . Arenas and Bowen wound up being the odd men out while Wizards forward Antawn Jamison and Sacramento Kings center Brad Miller were kept.

 

"We had two point guards and the four main players on the perimeter for us are Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Joe Johnson," Krzyzewski said on Aug. 18. "We just felt that with the playing time they're going to get we needed support in the back line. When we played Brazil and Lithuania we needed depth there."

 

Arenas said he made up his mind to return home on Aug. 14 after he strained his groin while going up for a dunk attempt during practice. In a conversation with Colangelo that day, Arenas said it became obvious to him that he was going to get trimmed from the roster.

 

"The disappointing part was talking to Colangelo and he said, 'I heard you want to go home,' " Arenas said. "I told him that I was hurt but I didn't know how serious it was and that I didn't want to hold up a spot for somebody else. He told me, 'I've been talking to the coaches and you're on the bubble anyway, so you can go if you want.' (That's a little bit of a douchebag comment, if you ask me.) I was like, all right."

 

Team USA faces Greece in a semifinal game tomorrow morning.

 

"Even though it was disappointing for me, I had a good time over there and I hope they win it," Arenas said. "I told the team when I was leaving that I can't wait for them to win the gold so me and Antawn can share it. I'm just going to keep working hard. I have two years to get ready for the Olympics. That's how I look at it."

 

Arenas's frustration over what happened this summer stands in stark contrast to the enthusiasm he showed when Colangelo selected him as one of the 22 national team candidates in February.

 

Arenas, who campaigned for an invitation, called his selection one of the highlights of his career and spent the early part of the summer preparing for training camp in Las Vegas, which opened July 19.

 

In the past, Arenas has used slights -- real or imagined -- to motivate him and said this latest experience will only make him a more determined player heading into his sixth NBA season.

 

"I just hope people start looking at my basketball talent and stop prejudging me," Arenas said. "Whether it was barely getting a scholarship out of high school or going in the second round in the draft or almost not making the all-star game last year, it just always seems like people don't want to give me what I've earned. It's frustrating. I guess I just have to keep working on my game so people have no choice but to recognize me."

 

Arenas said he plans on reserving a little extra effort for two Team USA assistant coaches: Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan and Phoenix Suns head coach Mike D'Antoni.

 

"I'm going to be the silent assassin this year," he said. "I can't wait to play the Suns and Portland. Against Portland, Nate McMillan, I'm going to try to score 100 in two games and against D'Antoni, I'm going to score 100 in two games. I'm going to try."

 

Discuss.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Big deal. If he's going to be such a whiny pussy then I'm glad that he didn't make the team.

[alfdogg 0]

Yeah, he did a pretty horrible job of presenting himself, but in principle, I agree with him somewhat. The story from the moment the 24-man roster was announced was about the class of '04 and how they didn't get run in Athens. Obviously LeBron and Wade shouldn't be left off, but if you've followed this all the way, it was obvious Carmelo Anthony was making the team whether he really fit in or not. But it turns out he has, so good for him. There's really no need to have Chris Bosh on the team, though, you could have given Arenas his spot.

[Precious Roy 0]

They need depth on the frontline. In the last couple Olympics foul trouble with the bigs has been a major issue. We've got Brand, Howard, Bosh, Miller (who doesn't even play) and Jamison. Melo and LeBron have also been playing the 4. I would have rather seen Jamison cut before Bosh.

 

I thought Arenas would be cut for the exact same reasons that article gives. I could see him making it over Hinrich or Jamison, but the team has a lot of depth in perimeter scoring, and I think they viewed Arenas as too much of a ball stopper.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

It's all good, it's motivation for Arenas, I think he could see him average 30 PPG this year and be in the elite class.

 

I would've had him on my team if I was the coach, no question.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

Big deal. If he's going to be such a whiny pussy then I'm glad that he didn't make the team.

[Guest JustPassinBy]

Being the 15th best player in the world isnt that bad of deal.

Its not like Arenas would have much of a chance to make the team when Kobe and Chauncey Billups are healthy anyhow.

 

Kobe will make the team. Jamison'll get cut.

Billups will make it also. Hinrich probably gets cut.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Arenas is a better player then alot of the guards on the team. So is Iverson and Pierce.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Wow. I hope he can live with the fact he wasn't able to get on Team USA. Such a shame.

[Cuban Linx 0]

Against Portland, Nate McMillan, I'm going to try to score 100 in two games

 

Given how the Blazers are shaping up for next year he'll probably be able to achieve that one pretty easily.

[Krankor 0]

Arenas is a better player then alot of the guards on the team. So is Iverson and Pierce.

 

Just because a guy can average 30 points a game doesn't warrant him a roster spot. We tried having all guys that can put up 30 points a night in Athens and that didn't work. The whole idea behind this Team USA was creating a team that had good chemistry together unlike the Athens team. If it came down to just throwing the best players in the NBA on Team USA then Iverson would have been an automatic choice.

 

If Arenas wants to make the olympic team, than he needs to find a way to bring his game to an even higher level. I'm sure Colangelo and Coach K. think highly of him pissing and moaning to the media.

[Krankor 0]

Against Portland, Nate McMillan, I'm going to try to score 100 in two games

 

Given how the Blazers are shaping up for next year he'll probably be able to achieve that one pretty easily.

 

The Blazers may not even be able to score 100 points in those two games.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Arenas is a better player then alot of the guards on the team. So is Iverson and Pierce.

 

Just because a guy can average 30 points a game doesn't warrant him a roster spot. We tried having all guys that can put up 30 points a night in Athens and that didn't work. The whole idea behind this Team USA was creating a team that had good chemistry together unlike the Athens team. If it came down to just throwing the best players in the NBA on Team USA then Iverson would have been an automatic choice.

 

If Arenas wants to make the olympic team, than he needs to find a way to bring his game to an even higher level. I'm sure Colangelo and Coach K. think highly of him pissing and moaning to the media.

 

I agree with what your saying, I should've pointed out what I was trying to refer to. I ask talking to the poster above me that said, "Being the 15th best player in the world isnt that bad of deal." Which is pretty stupid considering, there are players in other countrys(Dirk, Nash etc) that would be in the Top 15.

 

Either way, this is good for Arenas because he's been playing with a chip on his shoulder his whole career, which is why he wears the #0, because that's the number of minitues people thought he was going to play at a college level.

 

Nobody should bash Arenas as person in this thread, because Arenas is a guy I would want my kids to have as their role models. He's a great man, and person. Even if in his interviews he comes off as an asshole.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

In what sense are you using the term "role model?" Because I don't want my kid to look up to any athlete as a role model... Of course, he probably doesn't, anyway: he's not all that into sports.

[2GOLD 0]

He doesn't sound like he's acting like an asshole at all to me. He sounds like a guy really confused how he could do everything asked of him and find himself off the team. I'd be a little bit frustrated too.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

I don't follow this logic at all. I mean, am I the only person here who actually thinks that Arenas could have done everything they asked him to, and the coaching staff and Colangelo evaluated him fairly, and they still felt that the guys that they kept over Arenas were better fits?

 

For crying out loud, it's not like he's a great shooter, or a great defender or anything. He's a great scorer, but if you've got Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, you don't need more volume shooters, you need fewer. Arenas is the kind of player that needs to be the focal point of an offense; he would not have been effective in the roles that Hinrich and Paul play for the team, so instead of asking who should have been cut between the two of them in order to keep Arenas, people should be asking which of the three focal points of the offense (Anthony, James, Wade) should have been cut to keep him.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Nobody should bash Arenas as person in this thread, because Arenas is a guy I would want my kids to have as their role models.

 

I really want my kids to have Arenas as a role model as well, because the first thing they need to learn in this world is that when things don't go the way you want, the best course of action is bitching to the media and making outlandish statements.

[Precious Roy 0]

I don't follow this logic at all. I mean, am I the only person here who actually thinks that Arenas could have done everything they asked him to, and the coaching staff and Colangelo evaluated him fairly, and they still felt that the guys that they kept over Arenas were better fits?

 

For crying out loud, it's not like he's a great shooter, or a great defender or anything. He's a great scorer, but if you've got Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, you don't need more volume shooters, you need fewer. Arenas is the kind of player that needs to be the focal point of an offense; he would not have been effective in the roles that Hinrich and Paul play for the team, so instead of asking who should have been cut between the two of them in order to keep Arenas, people should be asking which of the three focal points of the offense (Anthony, James, Wade) should have been cut to keep him.

 

No, you're absolutely right. Arenas is a one on one player, who scores by dominating the ball and dribbling til he finds an opening. For him to be truely effective he needs the ball in his hands, and his style of play doesn't exactly translate to the international game. He's a decent shooter, but he gets all his shots off his own dribble. He's not a catch and shoot guy.

 

I'm sure he's capable of subjugating his game and doing other things, but that's not his strength, and we had other guys (Paul, Hinrich, Johnson) better suited to do those things.

 

Hell, I thought Carmelo would be cut too, just because you don't need all these one on one offensive players on the same team.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

Arenas = just another high scorer. That's the last thing the team needed.

[Annabelle 0]

nothing makes me happier than to see the usa lose at basketball. its always so funny.