Washington, DC (My Sportsbook) - Restricted free agent Gilbert Arenas officially signed a contract on Friday with the
Washington Wizards. As per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Arenas had signed an offer sheet with the Wizards on July 22 and the Golden State Warriors had 15 days to match the offer under the NBA rules for restricted free agents, but Golden State declined to match it.
The Warriors are nearly $5 million over the salary cap and could only offer him the $4.9 million mid-level exception next season, so it was highly unlikely that Golden State would re-sign Arenas.
"Gilbert is an outstanding young point guard and we feel fortunate to add a player of his caliber to our roster," Washington president of basketball operations Ernie Grunfeld said.
Arenas, who had played two years with the Warriors had also been coveted by the Los Angeles Clippers, who offered the guard a six-year contract worth $64 million. However, the 21-year-old was intrigued by the idea of playing in new Washington head coach Eddie Jordan's free-flowing offense.
Last season, Arenas averaged 18.3 points, 6.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds in 82 games for Golden State en route to winning the NBA's Most Improved Player Award.
"He was one of the marquis free agents this offseason, and we're pleased to make him a part of a very exciting future here in Washington," said Grunfeld. Gilbert has proven that he can excel at this level and we are confident that he will fit in very well with Eddie Jordan's exciting style of basketball."
Arenas' 2002-03 season was highlighted by a career-high 41 points against Washington on March 23.
The Warriors selected Arenas out of Arizona with the 31st overall selection in the 2001 NBA Draft.
He played two seasons at the University of Arizona, averaging 15.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 70 games. He ranked 25th on the Arizona career scoring list with 1,105 points when he left school, becoming just the sixth player in school history to reach the 1,000 point plateau as a sophomore.
