WASHINGTON (AP) -Gilbert Arenas learned his lesson, apparently.
“I’m not going to try anything stupid this summer,” Arenas said Friday before his Washington Wizards faced the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series.
“I’m going to take my time and prepare for next season. I’m going to be smart about it this year. I’m going to have five or six months to get this thing strong again and ready to go again.”
He said he would be getting his surgically repaired left knee drained of excess fluid, beginning the process of preparing for next season.
This season ended for Arenas before Game 5 on Wednesday, when he announced he wouldn’t play again, no matter how far the Wizards went in the playoffs.
Arenas was in a talkative mood Friday, touching on a variety of topics:
-On teammate DeShawn Stevenson wearing a Michael Vick jersey while the Wizards were in Cleveland: “I told him to take it off.”
-On Stevenson drawing the ire of Cavaliers fans: “If you’re the most hated player in Cleveland, that’s a great thing. I mean, come on. One whole city who hates you. No matter what team you ever play for, you’ve got 20,000 people booing you. That’s a good thing: 20,000 people who actually know you.”
-On sitting on the sideline, out of uniform, during games: “I start sweating. I don’t know why. During a game, those nerves never kick in.”
-On Cavaliers-Wizards: “I’ve never seen this much stuff go on in a playoff series. … If it goes to Game 7, you might see Jay-Z in the crowd. Who knows with this series?”
-On Cleveland star LeBron James: “When he gets a mid-range and a long-range consistent shot … he’s going to be dangerous. … You can see why he’s ‘the Chosen One.’ He’s averaging 31, 7 and 7, and he’s just going off raw athleticism.”
James, for his part, was disappointed not to be going head-to-head with Arenas any longer in the series.
“As a competitor, you always want the best players on the court. I know it’s a tough situation for him not being out there,” James said before Game 6. “Hopefully, he recovers because the NBA, the Washington Wizards – we need him as a competitor out on the court.”
Arenas’ first operation on the knee came in April 2007, and he was back playing summer league games a few months later. He won’t be doing that this time around.
Instead, the three-time All-Star point guard said he’ll try to take it easier on his leg.
He might try yoga, something teammate Antawn Jamison does. Maybe some boxing to stay in shape. He wants to get a pool built so he can swim.
How about golf?
“Nah, I don’t golf,” Arenas said. “Walking and hitting balls – is that a sport?”
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