NBA: Should the Washington Wizards offer Gilbert Arenas a Huge Contract?

Word out of Washington, along with every major sports site and agency covering the NBA, is that Gilbert Arenas, also known as Agent Zero, Hibachi and Clutch Touch (Ok, I made that last one up), is seeking a six year, $124 million dollar deal after opting out of the last year of his contract.

If the figure he is demanding seems outrageous, it is because it is the highest salary a team can offer an unrestricted free agent. Another member of the "Big Three," Caron Butler, of whom it can be said finally asserted himself as rising star in the league, is under contract through 2010-11, and is not seeking a new deal.  Gilbert made close to $12 million last year, while another member of the "Big Three," Antawn Jamison, made close to $16.3 million.

If you haven't heard, Jamison is also an unrestricted free agent with several teams, most notably the Wizards and the 76ers, pursuing him.Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld has stated that resigning Jamison and Arenas are his top priorities, but that is now under question because of the salaries each of the two would command. Jamison is one of the most sought after free agents not only because of his stellar 21.4 points and 10.2 rebounds, but also because of the veteran leadership he would bring to a young team along with his playoff experience.

Arenas, in typical Gilbert fashion, has gone on record as saying that he will not return to the team if they do not "take care" of Jamison first. Furthermore, he has even offered to lower his asking rate in order to ensure that Jamison gets paid. While Gilbert's sincerity is admirable, it is also a little questionable because by demanding a max deal, he has put the Wizards in the questionable position of maybe having to choose between Jamison and himself.

So the central question is, who do the Wizards need more, Antawn Jamison or Gilbert Arenas?

Gilbert missed most of last year following a knee surgery and his return, while widely heralded as a possible lightning rod for the Wizards to rally around, has since drawn criticism. It has been said, even amongst Wizards fan circles, that Gilbert's larger than life personality overshadowed the team spirit and camaraderie developed by the Wizards going into the playoffs. They were playing better team defense, relying less on steals, and committing less turnovers. Finally, Arenas has always been a shoot first point guard, focusing more on his point total than the assists he hands out—perhaps not the best mentality for a point guard.

On the other hand, no one can fault Eddie Jordan, the Wizards' head coach, for inserting Arenas into the lineup almost immediately following his return. Arenas is undoubtedly one of the most underrated superstars in the league, if not a top five player. When healthy, he is a threat night in and night out impose his will and score without check whenever he wishes. Before the 2007-08 season began, there was a general feeling shared by Wizards fans and league pundits alike that he was one of the candidates to win the NBA scoring title before he went out with the injury.

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