Searching for a better future, Arenas goes back to the past

This looks like a job for Agent Zero.

The Wizards are stuck in a fog, on a fast-moving conveyor belt of close losses, searching for positives other than the new accomplishment of falling short against the Pacers, Clippers and Kings, when a hero arrives from the distant past. It's Gilbert Arenas in all his Hibachi-ness. All hail 2006-07.

"Other teams probably would have blown up, been having fights, but we're sticking together and that's the best thing you can do right now in a situation where no one is trying to jump off the boat when it's sinking," the 2009-10 version said. "Eventually, I might have to repair it. The team is waiting for me to repair it. I'm going to have to."

Going to have to get retro on the league.

"I'm going to have to get back into my prime quicker than I thought I could come into the season," Arenas said. "Right now, they're looking for me to be their leader."

The 8-17 Wizards are looking for any kick start, actually, and since Arenas is the guy on the $111-million contract: you're hired.

Of course, Arenas is searching himself too. His stats are good this season, (22 points, seven assists and four rebounds) yet something seems off. When Washington lost 109-107 to the Raptors on Dec. 4, he hit clutch shots and scored 34 points, only to miss a contested layup in the closing seconds that could have forced a second overtime. When Washington lost 114-113 to the Pacers on Dec. 12, he missed two free throws with 6.6 seconds remaining that could have meant a three-point lead, opening the door for Mike Dunleavy to deliver the Indiana win. When Washington lost 112-109 to the Kings on Dec. 16, Arenas had the ball, Wizards down one, made his move to get into the lane for the potential game-winner, a rookie defender between him and the old days ... and got stripped by Tyreke Evans with about five ticks left. Intentional foul to stop the clock, two Evans free throws, lights out.

The Sacramento heartbreak was the sixth consecutive defeat by four points or less, tying the 1976-77 Suns for the record for nonstop frustration. The combined margin of the Washington setbacks was 14 points. The veteran Wizards were digging hard to cling to positives amid arguably the most disappointing start in the league.

"Well, it's a veteran team, but it had different dynamics," first-year coach Flip Saunders said. "They closed out games because Gilbert closed out games. Gilbert's not where he was two years ago. He's been out for two years, and he was known as one of the best closers there was. I remember when we were in Detroit. He got the ball at one end of the floor, he went against Chauncey [Billups] and broke Chauncey's ankles and hit a 3-point shot and they won the game by one. But he's not there yet. He's going to get there eventually. I think that's how you kind of have to look at it."

Arenas just sped up the eventually. The whole repair-the-boat thing. He has summoned his former self, the guy who averaged 25.5, 29.3 and 28.4 points in consecutive seasons, ending in 2006-07. This is a few lifetimes later, though, after two years and three knee surgeries. Still to be determined is whether former self is taking Arenas' calls in very late-2009.

The first game after the pronouncement was very encouraging -- 45 points and 13 assists Friday in a streak-busting win at Golden State. Welcome back, Agent Zero. But then came Saturday at Phoenix and Arenas missing 15 of 21 shots in a 26-point loss.

"It's only pressure [that] whenever somebody mentions my name, they always put one-eleven," he said. "Instead of just calling me a basketball player, they always put a number behind it, like that defines who I am."

By "one-eleven," he's referring to the monster deal he signed in 2008. Six years, $111 million -- taking less than the maximum to leave the Wizards some financial flexibility to retain some players or add others.

His contract, his burden.

"There's no pressure in playing basketball, but every time you read an article and they mention you, it's like, 'Yeah, the one-eleven guy.' No, I'm a basketball player. I haven't played this game in two years. I'm playing against people who played every day. I haven't been in situations where I get to take a game-winner. I can't take a game-winner in practice. I can't shoot free throws in practice that simulates the game. There's no crowd, there's no nothing. So I'm learning as I go. I'm getting back and feeling the vibe again, and people don't understand that.

"It's just like if you were a bodybuilder, you stop lifting for two years and then go back in there and try to lift 400 pounds. Break your arms. I'm happy where I am progressing 20 games into the season, but I know where I need to be."

He needs to get to the future already. He needs to get to the past.

Scott Howard-Cooper has covered the NBA since 1988. You can e-mail him here.
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