Arenas hopes to come back after the all-star break (Feb.14-18) as long as the knee feels ready for game action. Recently, Arenas said he would consider coming off the bench in the early stages of his comeback to avoid disrupting the chemistry the Wizards have established in his absence. The team is 19-12 without Arenas entering Wednesday’s game.

“He’s around, he sees what we’re doing, he’s mature and he knows after all is said and done with his blog and what he tells you guys, he’s very realistic about where we are and where he’s going to be,” Jordan said. “He knows that he’s going to have to work in as far as getting his legs back with some practice time and then we’ll make some decisions when he’s ready to play. He’s going to practice a significant time before he starts to play and when he’s ready to play, we’ll see whether coming off the bench is good for him and us; but if I were to guess, I would say he’s going to be a starter.”

Jordan also said he believes that Arenas is sincere about not rushing himself back too quickly.

“He’s not going to be premature,” Jordan said. “He’s diligent with his rehab, he’s disciplined with all of his therapy and he learned from the first time around that going too hard, too fast, too quick, too much is not the right way to go.”

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2008/01/how_to_become_a_wiz_ballboy_wi.html

“I haven’t told coach this, but I’m considering just coming off the bench when I come back,” he said quietly in front of cubicle in the Wizards’ dressing room. “I just don’t want to mess up the sync right now, you know? They got a nice thing going. When I do go in there, I want it to be free-flowing, not try to slowly get it back and slow everyone else down.”

I hope this puts to rest the ridiculous notion that Gilbert is selfish or not a team player. This is the guy who drove out to the airport to greet his teammates upon their return from Boston after sweeping a home-and-home from the fearsome Celtics.

And when Gilbert gets back he’ll put an end to this nonsense about the team being better without him. Let’s recall that at the All Star break last year, the Bullets were the best team in the conference. They had the best record, Eddie Jordan coached the East in the midseason classic, and Gil, Caron and Antawn were all healthy and ballin’. Then Jamison went down and the team stumbled. They got AJ back and started to assert themselves again, but then Tough Juice went down for the season. A few days later, Gilbert went down for the season. They stumbled into the playoffs, but Antawn’s 30 points and 10 rebounds per game were not enough to avoid a first round sweep by the eventual conference champions.

Now Caron is better, Antawn is rebounding and — gasp! — even defending better than he has in his career. Deshawn is one of the top defensive shooting guards and must be recognized as such after what he did to Ray Allen in back-to-back games. Brendan Haywood is playing the best ball in his career and is no worse than the 3rd best center in the conference. If the bench can come through with more consistency — and the addition of a sweet-shooting 7-footer like Oleksiy Pecherov can only help — the Bullets will be the team no one wants to play in April if Gil comes back healthy.

By the way, the rest of Wise’s column is about what a great player Caron Butler has become. In fact, Knicks broadcaster and NBA Hall of Famer Walt Frazier says Butler is one of the top 15 players in the league.

“He’s on the threshold,” Frazier said. Clyde does not give out compliments like candy, especially in his second incarnation as a Knicks broadcaster for the past 20-plus years. But Butler’s lack of deficiencies has left him no choice. “I really don’t see any weaknesses,” Frazier added. “He has all the moves. He plays good defense. He can shoot from the perimeter and now his free throws. I think he’s definitely in the top 15.”

http://www.cantstopthebleeding.com/?p=12232