Bullets ponder: Who comes back?

Indications are that Bullets GM Ernie Grunfeld intends to bring back All Star free agents Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas, leading Washington Post columnist Mike Wise to argue in favor continuity — not blowing the team up in despair after a 3rd straight first round playoff elimination at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Wise also makes a very good point that has been made numerous times here at DC Pro Sports Report:

Are the Wizards better without Gilbert Arenas? Yes, they were better off without a one-legged Arenas, just as the Spurs are better off without a one-legged Tim Duncan and the Lakers are better off without a one-legged Kobe Bryant.
Long haul? No.
Don’t confuse the player who returned from knee surgery and did what his physically ailing frame could to compete the past month with the guy whom the franchise needs to re-sign.
Arenas at full strength gives Washington a shot at going deep into the playoffs. Without him, first-round-and-out is a good year.

Caron Butler wants the team to re-sign Arenas and Jamison and he thinks it will happen.

“I look forward to both of them coming back,” Butler said. “Obviously, I don’t have that much input but publicly, I’m saying what I’m saying right now. I would love to have them back. I think that will be the case and I’m almost positive that will be the case.”
Asked how he could be so sure, Butler broke into a wide smile.
“I just have a hunch,” Butler said. “A reliable source.”

But can the Bullets hold the team together even if they want to? First, let’s consider Jamison:

Jamison, 31, earned $16.3 million in the final year of his contract and may be willing to sign a contract that would pay him about $10 million next season, according to a source familiar with his thinking.

Jamison is definitely worth $10 million per year, particularly if it is a 3 or 4-year contract. A 5-year contract is a bit dicier as Jamison would definitely be up there in years [for a pro hoops player] at the end of that deal and might not be earning his cash anymore. Nevertheless, if some team offers him a 5-year contract at about $10 million per year, Washington will have to match it or work out some sign-and-trade deal. Jamison is too good for the Bullets to just let him walk. Although he’s not young anymore, Jamison keeps himself in superb physical condition and his game of perimeter jumpers and weird finesse moves in the paint should age well. I’m confident Jamison will be a good player for at least 3 more years.
Of course, how likely is it that a team will give Jamison a bigger offer than Washington is willing to push across the table? There are very few teams with real money to throw around this summer. Atlanta, Philadelphia and Charlotte will all have cash to spend, but would they spend it on Jamison? Those are 3 re-building [or just building in the case of Charlotte] teams. By the time those teams are ready to contend for a title, Jamison will no longer be the player he is now. Putting big money into Jamison instead of younger players isn’t a good idea for the 76ers, Hawks or Bobcats. Charlotte exec Michael Jordan loves his Tar Heels, but even he probably wouldn’t offer a huge contract to Jamison. It just wouldn’t make sense. Complicating matters for the Hawks is that both Josh Smith and Josh Childress are free agents and it will require a major commitment of money to keep them in Atlanta. It’s hard to see the Hawks walking away from two young studs in favor of the older Jamison.
Arenas is more complicated. He’s still young and, when healthy, is an almost unstoppable offensive player who can break down any defense, score from anywhere on the court and shoot a high percentage from the line. He’s one of very few NBA players who can score 30 points on any team on any given night. Those guys are valuable. And expensive.
On the other hand, Arenas hasn’t been healthy for about 13 months and he hasn’t looked like a great player since the first injury. He wants a deal worth at least $100 million and he wants it now, before he’s shown anyone that he’s the player he was back in 2006. Arenas insists he’s going to demand a max contract, assuming he’s healthy.

“If I’m 100 percent, then I’m going to ask for a max,” Arenas told the station. “If I’m not, then it’s negotiation time. If I know my knee’s not going to be 100 percent, then I’m not going to sit there and say: ‘I want the max.’”
But, later in the interview, Arenas again said he’d take less money if it guaranteed Jamison’s return. The negotiations could be quite interesting: Arenas doesn’t have an agent, and he said he has overseas trips planned for nearly all of July — when the talks should be taking place.

Let’s face it: This is Gil we’re talking about so almost anything could happen. Any team giving a huge contract to Arenas had better be sure he’s going to be healthy. I just find it difficult to believe Arenas will get a max contract elsewhere. Teams will inquire about him, of course, but it wouldn’t surprise me if no team, including Washington, is willing to give Gil a max contract.
Let me get on this on the record: The Bullets are a much better team with a healthy Gil. If Gil is going to be healthy, Washington MUST have him back. It’s a disaster if they lose a healthy Gil to some other team.
What about Roger Mason, the sharp-shooting local boy who emerged as a solid NBA bench player this season?

Sixth-man Roger Mason Jr. — who averaged a career-high 9.1 points — also will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but he could be the odd man out if the Wizards re-sign Arenas, which would bring the number of guards on the roster to four.
Mason turned down a multiyear offer last summer from San Antonio to return to the Wizards for a one-year, $770,610 deal, believing he would benefit from continuity. That gamble appears likely to pay off for Mason.
“I took a bet on myself coming back to Washington for another year just to get some continuity, and it looks like that proved right,” Mason said. “I am from D.C. And I love it here, and this is where I got my first real opportunity. I told my agent that I would love to sign back here, but it is free agency, so who knows what could happen.”

This is one tough. I’d like to have Mason back. If the Bullets could figure out some way to move Antonio Daniels and keep Roger Mason, I’d be all for it. However, if Gil is going to be healthy and Nick Young is still on the roster, I find it difficult to see how Mason returns. If he leaves, as I expect he will, it will be a sad day for the Bullets. Mason has come a long way the right way — through hard work — and he deserves every penny he gets.