Prepare to make Great “Gaines” when your Gilbert Arenas disappears

Gilbert Arenas plays basketball for the NBA franchise formally known as the Washington Bullets. They are now the Wizards. But neither sorcery nor his moniker, Agent Zero as he is affectionately known, will purify the muddy waters into which he has waded. Arenas entered a plea agreement today after being charged with felony gun possession for a silly incident involving unloaded handguns that he brought to the Verizon Center. It is occasions like these that I see value in a life lesson I learned during my playing career. It’s simple. YOU MUST LEARN THE GAME BETTER THAN THE PLAYERS ON THE FLOOR.

Arenas is the no longer an anomaly. Guns and NBA players tend to have a Peanut Butter and Jelly kind of natural correlation. With that in mind, if there’s one thing you learn as a reserve struggling to find your place in the rotation of a team or organization it’s that you can’t actually believe that you are better than the player who starts in front of you. During my career, I swore I was better than the guy starting at my position. I made claims of being more athletic and a better, more complete player than my minutes indicated. But how well does a player on the sidelines really know the game? What better tutor for a learning curve is experience? In the NBA, Gilbert Arenas is/was the guy whose position is guarded contractually and socially because he has social capital with the powers that be. That is, the coaches, general manager and perhaps even the owner. There are layers and layers often separating you, the reserve or bench warmer from “Agent Zero” or “Hibachi” as he’s also called.

I’ve learned that hierarchy in an organization is seldom personal but rather mostly business. Executives prefer not to gamble and coaches are no different so when Gilbert Arenas is suspended indefinitely by league commissioner David Stern, you darn well better be practiced. If you aren’t, someone else will be. Tonight, for instance, it was an undrafted player out of the University of Georgia who just signed his second 10-day contract for the Utah Jazz. His name is Sundiata Gaines. Who? Exactly. Don’t worry about it. What you need to know is that he was recently brought up from the National Basketball Developmental League (NBDL), the minor leagues of professional basketball. Gaines is averaging a mere 4 points per game but tonight, when All-Star starting guard Derron Williams went down with a wrist injury, Gaines came in ready to Get his Game On. He showed a knowledge of his players and the game. He was confident and did I mention that Utah was playing Lebron James’ Cavaliers? 3-2-1…Gaines hit the game winning three-pointer finishing with 9 points total, proof that you can complain about being the guy backing up the guy or  LEARN YOUR GAME BETTER THAN THE PLAYERS IN THE GAME so you can step in and make it look like you’ve done it all before.

To SEE how it went down: