thelesterlee
Gilbert Arenas is one of the better NBA media personalities out there. You can tell all of his thoughts are consumed by basketball. He doesn’t sugarcoat his opinions and it genuinely seems like being a credible, respected basketball analyst is important to Gil.
But lately, Gilbert Arenas has become what makes guys like Stephen A. Smith and Colin Cowherd impossible to watch—he stopped watching the games yet confidently comments on teams he hasn’t even cared to research.
This week, Gil went in on the Knicks and how they spend their money and their desperate need for a star…like Jalen Green.
Gilbert Arenas says the Knicks need a real superstar like Jalen Green or Anthony Edwards
“They have a horrible research team on what talent is.”
(🎥 @GilsArenaShow )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 2, 2024
“[The Knicks] have a horrible research team on what talent is, because they should have had stars. They should be looking for a star, period. I don’t give a f*** who I need to give up, I want a star. I want a Jalen Green, [Anthony] Edwards, right? I want a superstar.”
This whole rant is lazy as hell. Sure, when Gilbert was in the league, the Knicks were spending way too much money on the worst players. They gave Jerome James $30 million. I’m not even totally sure I know what Jerome James looks like.
New York is currently ranked 16th in payroll.
Leon Rose has done an excellent job slowly building this team up since becoming the Team President in 2020. But Gilbert doesn’t even take the time to research who’s currently in charge and the specific moves they’ve made to differentiate them from previous regimes.
“The Knicks used to make bad decisions and I don’t watch any of their games so my only take is that they still make bad decisions.” Incredible analysis.
Gilbert usually has a unique perspective and intentionally goes out of his way to have different opinions than his peers but for some reason, all he has to say about the Knicks is that they need a star.
On Friday night, the Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers by 36 points. Earlier this week, the Knicks beat the no. 1 seed in the West, the Minnesota Timberwolves. They’re 3-0 since trading for OG Anunoby.
But none of it matters until they get a real star like Jalen Green.
Who does Gilbert Arenas think Jalen Green is?
Later in the week, Gilbert doubled down on his Knicks bullshit and said the Houston Rockets wouldn’t trade Jalen Green for Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson which I reckon is technically true but mostly because of the salary cap.
But I’m so confused why Gil is obsessed with this kid.
I have two theories.
Speaking of Gilbert being lazy, he’s established his own way of assessing players and it’s simple as fuck.
He looks at a player’s points per game and their age.
That is it.
Jalen Green averaged 22 points when he was 20 therefore, he’s going to be a superstar one day.
That is the end of Gilbert’s exploration.
If you’re young and score 20+ points a game then you are a guaranteed Hall of Famer according to Gil.
No further examination into whether or not he’s impacting wins or playing defense or that he’s not even the best young prospect on the team.
Alperen Şengün is exponentially better than Jalen Green.
Neither are superstars.
Gilbert’s computer program is antiquated and stupid. Either that or it’s really possible Gilbert doesn’t even know who Jalen Green is and meant to say another player’s name.
It makes no fucking sense to list off superstars and go from Jalen Green to Anthony Edwards.
There is just no way Gil is this big of a Jalen Green fan unless the two have a relationship and Gilbert is forcing his little homie into these conversations because he wants to do him a favor.
Cade Cunningham has done more for a 3 win team. I’d rather have LaMelo Ball or Tyrese Haliburton but Jalen fucking Green??
They have the same agent, right?
All I know is you’re allowed to talk about the Knicks as currently constructed without a mention of some vague star that will send them to the Finals. Just like, talk about basketball. I wish I didn’t have to ask basketball analysts to talk about basketball.
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