No More Agent Zero?

This past weekend the Washington Wizards signed guard Gary Payton II (not Jr.; his brother is Gary Payton Jr.) to a 10 day contract. It's common for teams to do that in the second half of the season. If Payton works out for the Wizards then that's great; maybe he'll get another 10 days with the team before the front office needs to make a decision if he sticks around the rest of the season. If he doesn't pan out, that's probably fine too.

Payton's basketball future is not why I'm writing about him. I'm writing about him because according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, Payton has favored two numbers in his playing career: 23 and zero. Figuring he wouldn't be able to follow Michael Jordan, he decided against 23 but he did make a request for the number zero and was told it was off limits. Of course, zero was the number worn by Gilbert Arenas from 2004 to 2010 (he wore number 9 in his last partial season in D.C.) and Gil's time in Washington, shall we say, ended in a manner that some folks would rather forget. Particularly ownership.

For me, the end of Gil's tenure in a Wizards uniform was devastating because his career was cut short by an injury that he just couldn't recover from. Sure, sure, I know there was the whole guns in the locker room thing with Javaris Crittenton and the subsequent felony conviction but the real end of Arenas' career happened the moment Gerald Wallace wrecked Gilbert's knee in the first quarter of a Wizards-Bobcats game. That injury and all the ill-advised behavior that followed it does not for me erase the fact that Gil was probably the most exciting player to ever don a Wizards jersey. 

Yep, you read that right.

There's never been anyone before or after on the Wizards that could score the way Gil did. I would argue during the 2006-2007 season he was one of the best five players in the league. People were talking about a Kobe-Gil trade and were saying the Wizards should say no. He still holds the franchise record for points in a single game and is the only Wizard (I said Wizard, not Bullet) to make multiple All-NBA teams. One second and two thirds, if you must know. He's also the inspiration for this blog and this blog's title. There has not been a player in Washington in my 19 years as a season ticket holder like Gilbert Arenas and I mean that in the best, most complimentary way towards Gil. 

So about that number thing...

Usually franchises refuse number requests from players because they intend to retire the number requested. The Wizards have not necessarily followed that pattern in the past (they allowed DeJuan Blair to wear Phil Chenier's number 45 for the 29 games he played for the Wizards) and I don't think it's what they are doing here. It's also not the first time the issue of someone wearing number zero has come up. When Drew Gooden joined the team for his second stint, he commented on his consideration of wearing zero, which was a number he had worn in prior stops, as follows:

"They said I got to let zero cool off for a second."

So, if the Wizards aren't getting ready to raise Agent Zero's number zero jersey to the rafters, they must be exiling him and his number (the zero one, not the 9 one) from the franchise books forever, right? Right? I can't see it any other way.

If this is true, this is not entirely a surprise to me. This past summer, Capital One Arena was closed for a significant remodel; part of that renovation involved installation of new signage outside the 100 and 400 level seating sections featuring photographs representing significant events in the building's history as well as milestones in Wizards, Bullets, Mystics and Capitals history (and Valor history, I guess). 

Think there is anything celebrating Gilbert Arenas' time in a Wizards uniform? Not a one. And it's not just Gil. There's no mention at all of the mid-aughts at all. In case you forgot, that's the Wiz team that made four consecutive playoff appearances and had the best record in the Conference at the All-Star break one year. It's like basketball history in Washington consisted of the Bullets and then the John Wall era Wizards and nothing else. And yes, there is plenty celebrating the Bullets despite the fact they never played in the building. 56 new signs celebrating the building; not one features Gilbert Arenas.

Gilbert is also, for some reason, not a member of the Bullets / Wizards Alumni, a group created to connect past players to the current team. It's a great idea implemented after Ted Leonsis took over the franchise in full. But it's missing some parts, notably three-time All-Star Gilbert Arenas. Not all the players who were on those 2004-2008 playoff teams that Gil was a part of (admittedly, he was not much of a part of the last one) are absent from the alumni roster. Antawn Jamison is on there. So is Caron Butler and Larry Hughes. Oh, and don't forget about Awvee Storey.

Yep, that's right, Awvee Storey, who played in 25 games in his Wizards career and who scored fewer points (42) than Gilbert scored against the Lakers in one game in December 2006, is in the Alumni Association. But Gilbert is not. Actually come to think of it, Storey scored fewer than Gil scored against Phoenix in December 2006 also. And against Utah on MLK Day in 2007. And...well maybe a few other times too. I'm not sure how you get into the Bullets / Wizards Alumni club but I'm sure it has to be with the consent of the team. Who knows, maybe the team has reached out to Gilbert and he said no. On the other hand, maybe not.

Awvee Storey's bio on the Bullets / Wizards Alumni page.

I still see plenty of Gilbert Arenas jerseys at Wizards home games, even with the team loaded up with max players John Wall, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter, none of whom brings what Gil brought to the team. Yes, a couple of years ago, I ranked John Wall as the greatest Wizard ever; part of that evaluation considers the length of time each served with the team. John's body of work is better but he was never (and likely will never be) the player Gilbert was at his best.

I also sense as time passes away from the end of Gil's time with the team, most fans remember the times Agent Zero had that hibachi lit on the court with nothing but fond memories. If the current team had managed to make an NBA Finals or even compete in the Eastern Conference Finals maybe it wouldn't be that way. But they haven't so I see more and more Wizards fans clinging to the Arenas years more and more. And I don't think it's inappropriate. When he was at his best, nobody could touch Gil.

I may be all wrong here but I don't think that I am. If the team is truly trying to erase Gilbert from the franchise books by denying anyone the use of his number zero, maybe they are actually doing the exact opposite. But if they are just being spiteful about what they see as embarrassing and counterproductive behavior, I think they should move on and embrace Gil's legacy and Gil as a person. Let someone wear the number. Or retire it. 

I can't imagine I'm ever going to see Gilbert at Capital One Arena ever again like we see past players some nights in the building. But if Gil's ever inclined to come back, he can sit next to me any night and we can talk about how good those years last decade were. He'll always be Agent Zero to me and his swag will always be phenomenal in those stories.