When Gilbert Jay Arenas was suspended by the NBA - for his unacceptable conduct of brandishing firearms in the Verizon Center – there was a universal sentiment that the Washington Wizards’ 2009-2010 season was practically over.

But in the weeks to follow, the Wizards’ brass ensured that not only was their current season over, but the success of their subsequent campaigns would be limited as well. 

On Friday, sentencing was handed down to Arenas…and it was nowhere near as severe as some anticipated.  The All-Star guard was sentenced to two years of probation and 30 days in a halfway house.  He will also have to complete 400 hours of community service and was required to make a $5,000 donation to a violent crimes victim’s fund.

In other words, he got off scot-free.

And from reports that are coming from the Wizards’ office, the team is planning to move forward with the $111-million man next year.  But will they really be moving forward?

As plays stands today, Washington is in the midst of a 15-game losing streak.  That’s right, they’ve lost every game in the month of March – the last win for the Wiz was February 28 at New Jersey.  But even New Jersey has more reason to be optimistic than the Wizards.

When Arenas returns to the hardwood, he won't have these guys by his side.

That’s because Washington has decimated its roster with two big trades.  Perennial 20-8 forward Antawn Jamison was being highly coveted by a Cavaliers team looking to put itself in better position for a title run and to keep LeBron James satisfied.  So Jamison was sent packing and Washington received no personnel in return.  The Wizards has already packaged three players that constituted the core of the team – forward Caron Butler, guard DeShawn Stevenson and center Brendan Haywood.  These three averaged played beyond their averages.  Butler is a skilled scorer and former All-Star; Haywood is a rare big man who plays like one (2.1 blocks per game); Stevenson is a defensive specialist who can bang threes if he gets on a hot streak. 

All four former Wizards were part of the Washington franchise when there was actually some buzz…during their first playoff battle against LeBron James and the Cavaliers.  We all recall the missed free throws by Arenas, which would have put one of the games on ice and possibly changed the course of the series.  Ultimately, King James and his band walked away as the winners in that meeting, and the Wiz Kids seemingly haven’t recovered since.

But even though Washington hasn’t been able to break through to the next level, the trades were, to say the least, very disheartening to Wizards fans.  As part of its statement to the fans, the Wizards said:

“…we now look forward to moving on and focusing on building this team into the contender that our outstanding fans deserve.”  

Well, with Arenas coming back with a lot to prove, who will be there to support him?  By getting nothing of value in return for the core of the old team – and yes, Josh Howard has little to no value these days – the Wizards executives definitely dropped the ball.  With no tradable assets remaining on a severely talent-starved roster, Washington has basically pushed itself into expansion mode.

Ironically, D.C. needs Agent Zero to return with his guns blazing to make the Wizards relevant once again.