Agent Zero Ready for Return

The Washington Wizards' $111 million dollar, two time all-star, guard Gilbert Arenas appears to be near a return to the court. Arenas has indicated that he will make his season debut Saturday night at home game against Detroit.

The question I have is, why now? There are only ten games left in the season for the Wizards. They stand a very good chance of landing the No. 1 pick in this spring's NBA draft lottery and with that the opportunity, draft Blake Griffin of the University of Oklahoma. Arenas' presence might rejuvenate the Wizards, propel them to a few more wins, and adversely affect their draft position.

There is, of course, no guarantee that the worse record in the NBA will yield the top pick in the 2009 NBA draft. The Wizards were perennial lottery participants throughout the 1990's and the first two years of this decade, but only won the top pick once (2001). That proved to be a bad year to get lucky. The Wizards selected Kwame Brown who has turned out to be the worst No. 1 draft pick this side of LaRue Martin.

I like the Wizards chances this time around and feel confident that General Manager Ernie Grunfeld will get it right and select Griffin, should he decide to leave school early. Griffin is exactly the type of player the Wizards need. He will provide a low post presence, runs the floor well and is a rebounding machine. A line-up consisting of a healthy Arenas, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, Blake Griffin, and Brendan Haywood could compete with any team in the eastern conference.

This brings me back to why Arenas is returning now. If he is totally healthy, he should play. If he is not healthy, he shouldn't. Arenas needs to show that he can still play at a high level. The Wizards need to know that they made a wise investment when they re-signed him. From that stand point it makes sense for Arenas to play. However, as much as I enjoy seeing Arenas at his best I'd rather see the Wizards get the top draft pick this year.

Mr. Grunfeld if you are listening, keep "Agent Zero" on ice this season, come back with a new slogan next year, (we owe you one) and pray nobody else gets injured.