WASHINGTON (AP) -It's been no fun being a member of the Washington Wizards.

They are in last place, despite high expectations. They mourned the death of longtime owner Abe Pollin in November. Now one of their captains is suspended indefinitely and in deep legal trouble, while other players are catching flak for laughing at one of his antics.

``It's been going on too long - long enough,'' forward Antawn Jamison said Friday. ``We're definitely sick of it, too much negative publicity, and I think guys are just to the point where we just want to get some positive publicity and turn things around and start winning some games, start having fun. We haven't had fun in a while, so my New Year's resolution is just to have fun, go out there and play hard and do everything possible to start winning.''

The Wizards face the weighty task of setting aside the season's worth of distractions and moving forward without leading scorer Gilbert Arenas, banned indefinitely by the NBA while under investigation by federal and local authorities for possible violations of the strict gun laws in the nation's capital. Arenas has acknowledged keeping guns in his locker at the Verizon Center and taking them out in a ``misguided effort to play a joke'' on a teammate.

``The difficulty is not only that you're missing a good player, but just the whole situation,'' coach Flip Saunders said. ``The dynamics of what's happening, as far as having to talk to people and things like that. Anytime there's focus away from what you're trying to do as a team, it's not conducive for you to be at the top of your game. It's something we have to fight through.''

The Wizards, whose team president before the season of spoke of wanting ``to do some damage'' in the playoffs, entered Friday night's game against the Orlando Magic with an 11-22 record. But the Wizards' No. 1 challenge isn't stopping the likes of Dwight Howard - it's trying to carry on while the likes of Letterman and Leno are making fun of the team on national television.

Some of Arenas' teammates could be in a bit of trouble for joining in the fun. A photograph taken before Tuesday's game at Philadelphia shows most of the roster smiling or laughing while Arenas points his index fingers at them, as if he were firing a pair of guns. The Wizards are planning to fine some of the players for displaying such levity over a serious matter, an NBA official with direct knowledge of the team's plans has told The Associated Press.

The fines could be contingent in part on whether the incident was planned ahead of time by Arenas and teammates. Jamison, the only player made available to reporters after Friday morning's shootaround, was one of the players smiling in the photograph, but he said the picture doesn't tell the whole story.

``A lot of guys didn't know what was going to take place,'' Jamison said. ``A lot of guys didn't see that happening. I know you see the photo and you see a certain image, but that photo doesn't justify the way guys viewed the whole situation. Once again, it's just another use of poor judgment.''

Jamison futher implied that Arenas was acting on his own.

``You think we're going to initiate something serious like that?'' Jamison said. ``If you know me, you shouldn't ask that question.''

The photograph was one of the final straws for commissioner David Stern, who had intended to wait until the legal process played out before taking action against Arenas. Instead, Stern announced the suspension the following day, declaring Arenas ``not currently fit to take the court'' and warning of potentially worse sanctions down the road.

With Arenas away - the team has told him not to attend practices, games or other team functions - there are matters mundane and wide-ranging to consider.

Who starts at point guard? Earl Boykins started in Arenas' spot Wednesday at Cleveland, but Saunders said he prefers to have Boykins come off the bench and that another player - likely Randy Foye - would take the court at tipoff against Orlando.

Arenas was one of three team captains - although there was always debate as to whether he was suited for that role - but Saunders said will not name a replacement. Jamison and Caron Butler are the other captains.

Then there's the future of the roster as a whole. The Wizards could try to void the remainder of Arenas' six-year, $111 million by invoking a morals clause, and team president Ernie Grunfeld might break up the rest of the struggling team as the trade deadline approaches.

``It's going to affect not only the people's lives involved, but our lives as well,'' Jamison said. ``We don't have one of the best players in the league, that's affecting everybody. Changes might happen, that's affecting everybody.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.