Is Agent Zero wimping out?

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Gilbert Arenas culled from Latrell Sprewell's tired material in saying his decision to opt out of his contract with the Wizards after next season is based on securing the financial future of his two children.

To which can be said: Give me and all the other workaday lugs a break.

Earth to Arenas: With your $64 million contract, you already are in a position to give your children advantages that you never had. It turned out fairly well for you. It gave you a deep hunger. The wealth of the Hiltons produced the opposite effect on Paris.

This is not to object to an athlete looking to squeeze every last penny out of a team. That is the American way. We do not live in a socialist's paradise, where everyone lives in egalitarian harmony, which is to say everyone lives in poverty.

We live in a free marketplace, and if Arenas is inclined to test what his unique talents might bring on the open market, good for him. That is the game. That is what we all do. We all want to be paid, and the more we are paid, the better.

Just leave the children out of it. Whenever you hear adults discussing how it is all about the children, you know it is time to secure your wallet. It is rarely about the children. It is usually about the adults saying it is about the children.

Here is another thing that is becoming annoying -- the implied notion that Ernie Grunfeld and Eddie Jordan will be held accountable if Arenas decides the team lacks championship-quality personnel.

Arenas conveniently overlooks the obvious, which is: This is his team, his coach, his city.

If the team has been found wanting the last two seasons, that is partly because Arenas refuses to devote himself to the defensive end of the floor and because he and Caron Butler were sidelined with injuries during the playoffs this past April.

Arenas has been desperate to be viewed as an elite player since coming to Fun Street four years ago. And he has achieved much of what he has sought in becoming a three-time All-Star and All-NBA selection.