Arenas talks about leadership

The Washington Wizards play their home opener on Saturday, the first chance to see Gilbert Arenas in one piece in two years. So far, so good as Arenas averaged 26 points and 6.5 assists in the 1-1 start.

Arenas seems older, more serious than the old Agent Zero. Nearly losing your career to knee operations sometimes does that. This has been out there awhile, but Arenas showed some insight during media day a few weeks ago about how team dynamics work and how perception by the media and fans can be shaped.

Arenas has to be the leader. The best player must be if the team is to be any good. But Arenas showed how tentative that can be.

“What is a leader before I answer that one,” he said. “The leader is a guy who comes to the gym 7 o’clock when practice is at 11 or when the game’s at [at 7 and you arrive at] 3:30 and you go out there and play hard – is that a leader? Or is a leader something you say, ‘Coach, I’m a leader’ and he says in the paper ‘I’m a leader’ and I’m a leader. Is that a leader? I have no idea.

“Before, my first year here Eddie [Jordan] appointed [Jerry] Stackhouse and Larry [Hughes] to be the leader. He didn’t want me to be the leader. He said I was too young. So from that moment I was never the leader. In my mind, I was too young. So every time he tried to appoint me the leader I just didn’t want to be it. This year, Flip said, ‘I want you to be my leader’ so I said ‘OK.’