Jarvis Hayes Doesn't Miss Gil

The D.C. Sports Bog's Dan Steinberg lets no potential pistols-at-high-noon moment pass. He follows Gilbert Arenas' earlier comments about rookie Nick Young being a better player than fleed vet Jarvis Hayes with a muted but understood 'response' from Hayes himself. Here's Jarvis in the Detroit News as relayed by Steinz:

"A lot of times, over the past few years, I felt like I was getting caught up in what's going on with other players in D.C. This is different, more so being involved in the offense." Hayes no longer has to deal with an offense driven by Gilbert Arenas. He now feels he can come off the bench and make some significant contributions.

This echos of Smush Parker's comments after escaping Kobe Bryant's gravity... except Smush came out of nowhere and Jarvis was provoked. John Salmons made similar statements when he left Allen Iverson's Philadelphia; there's something to be said about relocating out of loud shadows on the career refreshment tip. I mean, you should've seen the freedom party we held at imaginary FanHouse HQ when J.E. Skeets took his ballhog ways back to The Basketball Jones.

In any event, Hayes should probably chill for a bit, wait for the actual season to come along before claiming renaissance. Hell, even Cheikh Samb's getting reps in training camp, right?