Grunfeld becomes point man

So Gilbert Arenas writes on his blog that he is not returning to Tony Cheng’s neighborhood if the Wizards fail to re-sign Antawn Jamison.

This qualifies as bold in a city that is debating on talk shows whether the Wizards should re-sign Arenas or try to orchestrate a sign-and-trade deal.

The sudden sentiment to peddle Arenas comes after the three-time All-Star missed 69 games in the regular season, underwent two surgeries on his left knee and left the coaching staff out of his decision-making loop.

Of course, it is fairly easy to be a call-in general manager of the airwaves.

You can trade Arenas, fire Eddie Jordan, give more minutes to Peter John Ramos and imagine the Wizards will advance to the NBA Finals in 2009.

These misguided suggestions come in the context of the Wizards being eliminated from the playoffs a third consecutive year by the Chosen Wimp and the Cavaliers.

Back in the real world, Ernie Grunfeld understands that sometimes the best moves are the ones not made.

Grunfeld, in his annual state-of-the-team address, raised anew the benefits of continuity and preserving the team’s core.

He and Arenas are in agreement on the importance of re-signing Jamison, if not Roger Mason Jr. And Grunfeld knows that Arenas has said he will tweak his contract numbers if it aids in the re-signing of Jamison.

“Our intent all along has been to sign those players [Arenas and Jamison] and keep our core together,” Grunfeld said yesterday. “At the appropriate time, we will sit down with both of those parties and see what we can work out.”

The appropriate time will not arrive until July 1, when the free-agent season commences. That leaves Arenas a lot of time to blog and deliver his pronouncements on the world according to him. That can be unsettling in this summer of uncertainty.

Arenas may not be the ideal player in temperament to lead the Wizards beyond the first round of the playoffs, but he is far better than most of the alternatives.

And it is equally true that the evaluation of the Wizards comes with an incomplete, given their lack of health the last two seasons.

“We want to see how everything would be if we had everybody together,” Grunfeld said.

Not surprisingly, Grunfeld sees the Wizards being closer to where they want to be than many of the team’s supporters. He sees a team that made the playoffs a fourth consecutive season, a distinction that only one other team from the Eastern Conference can make. He sees a team that was resilient through the loss of Arenas and Caron Butler.

Grunfeld even sees a positive in the bile that has been dispensed by many of the team’s supporters.

“I really like that there is a reaction, because that means there is interest,” Grunfeld said. “That means there is passion. I think that is really good. That’s what make great fans. They want to see you succeed.”

Grunfeld praised the stellar work of Jordan and the coaching staff. Their season-long capacity to keep the team afloat was de-emphasized after the loss to the Cavaliers.

Asked if he has considered making a coaching change, Grunfeld said, “No.”

That leaves Grunfeld facing his most challenging offseason since coming to the District in 2003.

He has to deal with the unpredictable Arenas, who does not have an agent, and make an educated guess on how many quality seasons Jamison has left in his 31-year-old body.

The re-signing of Mason does not become a priority until the issue of Arenas and Jamison has been resolved, and only then if Grunfeld has the financial resources to make a reasonable offer to the Good Counsel High School product.

“We would love to have Roger back,” Grunfeld said. “It is possible that it can happen. He is a true professional and a very good guy to have on our team.”

It is all on Grunfeld now. It is his time.