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Before John Wall cemented himself as one of the best point guards in Washington Wizards‘ history, it was Gilbert Arenas who once brought the franchise back to basketball relevance.
Not many may remember it, but the two generational talents actually managed to play together in a Wizards' uniform for one year in Wall's rookie season in 2010. Agent Zero, of course, was no longer the feared scorer around that time and accepted the fact that the franchise is moving on with Wall as its star.
Arenas recently reunited with Wall in the latest serving of his “No Chill” show, where he admitted that it wasn't hard to pass the torch to his successor Wall, whom he eventually befriended during their brief time as teammates.
“I gave that s— up. ‘Hey bro: this is your team, here's the keys.' Don't worry about me,” Arenas expletively shared (via Chase Hughes of NBC Sports) “You're the future. I'm just waiting around until they move me and see what they're going to do. We're not even going to sit here and to this battle of young vs. the old.”
Gilbert Arenas was coming off that firearms incident in 2009 where he received a 50-game suspension from the league. Injuries have set him back upon his return and his production dipped big-time as he aged. The three-time All-Star knew that his days in DC were numbered the moment the Wizards selected Wall first overall in the 2010 Draft.
While he was ready to prove himself against the much younger Wall in practice, Arenas accepted that the Wizards brass is all-in on the Kentucky standout.
“I can't beat this,” Arenas claimed.
Instead of directing his frustrations on Wall, Arenas actually took him under his wing for sometime before the Wizards traded him to the Orlando Magic in December that year. Wall, for his part, admitted he was surprised by Arenas' amicable approach to his arrival.
“I didn't know what the hell to expect,” John Wall said. “Most of the times you go into that situation like ‘damn.' He could have been an a–hole… He could have been like ‘sit your a– over there, this is my team.' He didn't do that.”
Arenas and Wall's partnership in DC lasted for just 21 games. Still, that it's evident that the two terrific playmakers forged a strong bond during that short time.
