Gilbert Arenas to sign with the Grizzlies

[Knicks4life]

Free-agent guard Gilbert Arenas exited an elevator in FedExForum with a pep in his step Monday morning following a workout for the Grizzlies.

He politely declined to comment when approached by a reporter.

“Hope to get to know you soon,” Arenas said, smiling, before he walked across the street to the Westin Hotel.

The Grizzlies, meanwhile, had already spent quality time with Arenas and now are on the verge of signing the 10-year veteran to a deal for the rest of this season, according to sources close to the process.

Arenas, 30, appeared slender and shot the ball well during the workout. Arenas only needed to pass a physical he was scheduled to take Monday afternoon and agree to a prorated veteran’s minimum contract requiring the Griz to pay about $300,000.

The deal, if completed in the next day or two, would allow Arenas to join the Grizzlies later this week in Portland. The Griz begin a four-game West Coast trip tonight at Sacramento.

Arenas has been unemployed since finishing last season with the Orlando Magic, who used the league’s one-time amnesty provision to waive Arenas and the remaining $62 million on his contract.

Arenas worked out for the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this season but they declined to make him an offer.

Even though Arenas averaged a career-low 10.8 points a game and shot 36.6-percent in 2010-11 while playing for the Magic and Washington Wizards, the Griz want his experience because rookies Jeremy Pargo and Josh Selby haven’t inspired confidence as backups for starting point guard Mike Conley.

The hope is that Arenas would provide quality backcourt depth with his ability to be a playmaker and big-time shot maker. He is a three-time All-Star who averaged 21.2 points and 5.4 assists 10 NBA seasons.

No one in the Grizzlies organization seems concerned with Arenas’ so-called baggage. Arenas was suspended in 2010 after bringing guns into the Wizards’ locker room — an incident that led to him being traded to Orlando.

Since then, his character and ability to disrupt a team’s chemistry has been under fire. However, the Griz have been consistent with their handling reclamation projects concerning veteran players. Guards Jason Williams and Allen Iverson were both eventually released after not conforming to the team’s philosophy.

Arenas apparently answered any questions about his physical condition with the workout.

Arenas underwent a similar blood-spinning procedure on both of his knees and hips that Lakers guard Kobe Bryant received in Germany during the offseason. Arenas was treated by Dr. Edward Capla in New York City. Capla used to work under Dr. Peter Wehling, who treated Bryant and New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez.

Still, it is not known yet how Arenas graded out on his physical with the Griz.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...ard-gilbert-a/

[Bogg]

Marvelous. I love that the Griz have decided to just throw as much crazy onto the roster as possible, and it's somehow working.

[seifer0406]

Randolph looks like he's close to 100%. This will be a scary team come playoff time.

[BlakeJesus]

Arenas and his tough nosed defense will be a nearly ideal fit for the Grizz...wait...

[Bogg]

Originally Posted by BlakeJesus

Arenas and his tough nosed defense will be a nearly ideal fit for the Grizz...wait...

They don't need him to play D. Tony Allen defends all the guards. At once.

[Basel]

Hope he comes back strong and plays well. If he does, though, I'll be pissed Lakers didn't sign him when they had the chance.

[MemphisX]

Originally Posted by Bogg

They don't need him to play D. Tony Allen defends all the guards. At once.

word

[Luke]

He sucks and this signing doesn't really matter, but I still don't want to play the Grizzlies in the playoffs. That team is the definition of a darkhorse.

[jaw2929]

Originally Posted by Bogg

They don't need him to play D. Tony Allen defends all the guards. At once.

LoL! Ain't that the truth? Still pissed Boston let him go.

[RollWithEm]

The Grizzlies would beat either LA team or the Spurs in a series if the playoffs started right now. I still think Dallas and OKC are bad match-ups for them, though.

[Diable]

Memphis doesn't have any holes. They are sound at every position with good depth and good defense. Most of the other teams have flaws. Assuming that Z bo fits back in, their size is going to be a real problem for most teams.

[Wilt_The_Stilt]

They got the idea to sign him from a blog.

I’m going to admit this, I’m going to come clean. I’ll be honest about it, okay? … I’m in the office of [President of Business Operations] Greg Campbell, he says, ‘You outta read this thing that’s on a blog today.’ And I don’t read the blogs, but this guy wrote this case for Gilbert Arenas, and I read the thing and said ‘Greg, you know something? This guy makes some sense.

http://larrybrownsports.com/basketba...as-blog/125229

[RollWithEm]

Very big of him to admit that.

[Dre]

He says his knee feels it's best come warm weather, and he also got that Kobe surgery so hopefully he looks at least passable. It's just sad that the guy's been looking like a fringe player for 2-3 years now.

[JonMatrix]

Memphis has been so lucky its ridiculous. They got robbed in the Pau trade, but Marc lost weight and became a good player. Nobody wanted Zach Randolph, but most part he's stayed out of trouble. A lot of people felt they reached on the Conley pick, but he's turned into a decent PG. Most people, myself included, thought Tony Allen got overpaid, but he's turned out to be better than expected.