Please don't go

Warriors' fans making Arenas feel wanted in Golden State

There's another protest movement brewing in the Bay Area. And this one has nothing to do with war in Iraq.

Gilbert Arenas, the Warriors' talented young point guard, will be a restricted free agent after the season. Golden State wants to keep him, but by league rules can only offer him a contract starting at the mid-level exception, around $4.5 million. GMs around the league say he's sure to get bigger offers elsewhere.

Denver, San Antonio, Utah and the L.A. Clippers are just four of the teams expected to have ample salary cap space this summer. The Nuggets, in need of a point guard, are expected to make a serious run. Arenas' agent, Dan Fegan, is good friends with Nuggets GM Kiki Vandeweghe.

Warriors fans, who finally have a decent team after years of suffering, are trying everything to fight the inevitable. They're showing up at games with T-shirts advocating Arenas' return. They're burning phone lines on talk radio. Last month a Warriors team official got a loud ovation from season ticket holders for saying the team would be willing to go over the luxury tax to keep Arenas.

Then there's Ray Yocke, a 21-year-old Warriors fan from Alameda. He has created his own web site devoted to keeping Arenas in a Golden State uniform, www.sign-arenas.20fr.com. "Golden State must do everything it can to retain the best point guard its had since Tim Hardaway," Yocke says on the site.

Arenas says he hasn't decided yet what to do. But he says he's genuinely touched by the grass roots movement to keep him in the Bay. He'd even heard about Yocke's web site.

"It's great. I do appreciate it," Arenas said Thursday when shown a printout of the site's home page before his team's game in Chicago. "It's a great feeling. For a kid who got picked No. 31 two years ago? ... I appreciate it so much."

Just then, Warriors guard Jason Richardson walked by and snatched the paper from Arenas. Laughing, he ripped it in shreds and threw it on the floor.

Warriors fans can only hope Arenas does the same to all those contract offers he's going to get this summer.

Rebraca still weighing his options

The Pistons have played so well this season it's easy to forget they have been without a key member of the team the last two months. Center Zeljko Rebraca has not played since Jan. 6 because of an irregular heartbeat. He is still working with doctors to try to find the right amounts of medication that would enable him to play.

Rebraca, a 6-foot-11 center from Yugoslavia, was averaging 6.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench before discovering the condition. Since then he has tried various medications, but none has left him comfortable to play. According to his agent, Bill Duffy, Rebraca is now contemplating an "ablation" surgery, similar to the one Lions QB Joey Harrington underwent recently to correct his irregular heartbeat.

Rebraca, meanwhile, denied Wednesday a report out of Yugoslavia that he had decided to retire. He said he is going to try a sixth course of medication this week and will consider the surgery if that doesn't work.

Privately, Pistons officials say they would love to have Rebraca back in time for the playoffs but they don't expect it to happen. For one, his wife is due in three weeks to deliver the couple's third child, and Rebraca understandably might be leery of undergoing any surgery before then.

Nuggets plan ahead on possible Iraq war

The Nuggets aren't concerned about any disruptions to international scouting in the event of a war with Iraq. According to assistant GM David Fredman, the club made a conscious effort to schedule the bulk of its overseas travel by Feb. 1.

"If there is a world situation, we wouldn't have to worry about changing our travel plans or being stuck overseas," Fredman said.

Vandeweghe, Fredman and assistant GM Jeff Weltman each have taken trips abroad this season to scout players. Between those trips and last summer's Global Games in Dallas, Fredman says, all three have seen Yugoslavian forward/center Darko Milicic in person. Milicic is expected to be one of the top three picks in this year's NBA draft.

Other NBA teams seem to be taking their usual approach to overseas scouting. The Raptors and Pistons, for example, are still planning to send reps to the European Final Four in Barcelona, Spain, in May.

"So far it really hasn't been a deterrent for us," says Raptors assistant GM Bob Zuffelato, noting that his club has a European scout based in Athens. "We can work around it, if necessary. We'll just have to see how it goes."

MJ's legacy as top scorer in jeopardy?

By playing through his recent injuries, Wizards forward Michael Jordan is doing more than risking a season-ending breakdown. He also might be risking his legacy as the game's all-time greatest scorer.

Jordan's career scoring average of 30.3 points per game through Thursday is No. 1 in NBA history. Right now he stands slightly ahead of Wilt Chamberlain's 30.1 mark. MJ and Wilt are the only two players over the 30-point career threshold.

If Jordan were to play in all of Washington's remaining 21 games, he would need to average 20.8 points per game to stay ahead of Wilt on the all-time lists. Given his current condition, it could be difficult. Jordan, battling a painful case of back spasms, has played just 15, 24 and 24 minutes the past three games while averaging eight points.

Jordan has said in the past that he doesn't care about records. He has shown he will sacrifice personal stats in order to help the Wizards make the playoffs. But it would be sad to see him fall behind Wilt -- or under the 30-point threshold altogether -- because of an injury suffered right at the very end of his storied career.

Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.

 

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