By DAVID STEELE
Orlando Magic Play-By-Play Announcer
Jan. 4, 2011
You hear and read a lot about how Hedo Turkoglu and the Orlando Magic are such a perfect fit for each another, and it is true. More evidence surfaced on Monday night when Turk recorded his third career triple double (all with Orlando) in a 20-point win over the Golden State Warriors.
But Turkoglu is not the only player acquired by Orlando in two blockbuster trades on Dec. 18 who is best suited in a Magic uniform. Gilbert Arenas also fits that bill, and, hopefully for his sake and for the sake of the Magic, he understands what a perfect fit it is.
Arenas is a three-time NBA all-star. Four years ago, he was one of the most exciting young guards in the league. In the 2006 playoffs against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, he averaged 34 points per game.
In 2007 he was having another incredible season, averaging better than 28 points per game, but on April 4, 2007, in a game against Charlotte, a collision with the Bobcats' Gerald Wallace changed everything for Arenas.
He had three surgeries on his damaged left knee, playing in only 15 games over the next two seasons. In 2009-10 legal problems and a half-season suspension dealt another blow to what had at one time been such a promising career.
In Orlando, Arenas has new life. He calls it a fresh start. Reunited with longtime mentor, Magic general manager Otis Smith, Gilbert seems to understand that his career is at a crossroads. With his 29th birthday coming Thursday, in his 10th year in the NBA, after all he has been through with injuries and off-the-court issues, he appears to know what his limitations are as a player.
His minutes with the Magic are reduced. In eight games, Arenas is averaging about 25 minutes per game, fewer than any season since his rookie year in Golden State, but he does not seem to care because his time on the court is productive.
He smiles a lot. Whether on the court finishing off a victory, or on the sidelines cheering his new teammates on, he seems to be enjoying every minute of every game.
Maybe he sees other aging, former NBA stars, like Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis, and is determined not to end up like them. The 35-year-old Iverson, a former MVP who was unable or unwilling to accept a reduced role in Detroit, Memphis and finally Philadelphia, toils overseas in the Turkish Basketball League.
Marbury and Francis, both former NBA All-Stars, certainly have enough talent left to help out some NBA team and put a positive stamp on their own basketball legacy. But the two 33-year-olds played this season in the Chinese Basketball Association, with Francis' stint ending prematurely last month after a dispute over his conditioning.
Arenas could follow in the footsteps of Iverson, Marbury and Francis. He could become dissatisfied with his role in Orlando. Complain about his minutes. Grumble about coming off the bench. Become a distraction in the locker room. Finish his basketball career in some faraway land.
Or he has another option. If he can continue to accept whatever role Stan Van Gundy has for him and help the Magic win an NBA championship in the next few years, he will be revered as a comeback kid.
The former All-Star who was almost down-and-out but then resurrected his career with an up-and-coming NBA team. The guy who understood his physical limitations and adapted his game to fit the circumstances.
Paul Silas did it with Seattle in 1979. Bill Walton with Boston in '86. Shaq with Miami in '06. All helped their teams win a championship late in their careers.
This can be the happy ending to the Arenas story, but it's up to him to make it happen.
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