TOM KNOTT: Summer promises gone sour

By Tom Knott (Contact) | Friday, September 19, 2008

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It is almost obligatory to question the collective wisdom of Abe Pollin and Ernie Grunfeld in re-signing a one-legged basketball player to a $111 million contract.

At least that is one strain of thinking lurking in cyberspace after Gilbert Arenas underwent the third surgical procedure on his left knee in 17 months.

Hindsight, of course, is a flawless measuring instrument.

Things always look perfectly clear after the fact.

But let's go back to July 1, when Arenas became an unrestricted free agent. Let's imagine Arenas bolting to another team after Pollin and Grunfeld refuse to add enough zeroes to his contract.

Pollin, in particular, would have been criticized yet anew for putting financial considerations ahead of fielding a competitive team.

It would have been pointed out, and justifiably so, that all kinds of players return to their previous level of excellence after undergoing knee surgery and that any concern regarding the long-term health of Arenas was merely a pretext to save money.

And that assessment would have been fair.

This is not to suggest that news of Arenas' latest surgery is unimportant.

It is a significant setback and leaves the franchise in limbo yet again.

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