NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Hoops Addict. Blogger tries out for D-League team. Blogger gets injured within 30 minutes. Blogger still gets a good story with great video out of it.

2. ESPN.com, via FD. Bill Simmons puts together a great Elgin Baylor column.

3. Rumors and Rants, via BDL. David West vs. a heckler at an Obama rally.

4. Nothing But Net. Our first "I should have stayed retired" joke from Larry Brown is in the books.

5. True Hoop. Abbott wonders, "If there were another Tim Donaghy, would the NBA catch him?" Terrific analys

6. SLAM. That epic Gilbert Arenas interview you've heard about.

If Gilbert Arenas' continued medical issues with his knee weren't worrisome enough, losing Brendan Haywood for four to six months because of that pesky wrist injury he suffered in practice this week. The Washington Post's Ivan Carter reports that Haywood needs surgery to repair a torn wrist ligament; the recovery period will keep him out until at least February, and possibly the entire season. Meanwhile, Antawn Jamison has an injury that keeps most players out two months; Jamison, however, says he will be ready for opening night.

Haywood was a huge, undersung cause for Washington's improvement last season. Perhaps being unshackled from constant battle with Etan Thomas allowed the ease of mind to finally perform well. Maybe Haywood finally got it. Some would argue Haywood had a fluke year, and would have come crashing back down to Earth in '08-09. Whatever the case, we aren't going to find out.

It appears Thomas will get the starting nod, though Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee figure as options, according to the Post's Carter. Is it an opportunity for the Wizards to see what they have in the youth corps? Sure, but it's also enough to suggest Washington won't be making the playoffs this season unless someone unexpected comes through in a major, major way.

Okay, so basically, we're going to take this one in two strides. First, we'll do the half-full version for any Wizards fans who might be reading as to not send them airborne, and then we'll do the half-empty version for the sadists among us.

Fresh off finding out that Gilbert Arenas had more surgery and won't be back for a while, the Wizards headed toward their first preseason game with the same "us-against-the-world" attitude that got them to the fifth seed last year without Arenas. Then center Brendan Haywood sprained his wrist in practice. No problem, there's a good chance he'll be back in a few weeks. And now, not five minutes into their first preseason game, Antawn Jamison hits the deck with what is being described as a strained knee.

Luckily, there's a good chance neither injury will be serious. Barring any severe second opinions or terrible MRI results, both players should be back within the month.

Okay, Wizards fans, that's all you need to hear, you can head back to whatever you were doing before. Drive safely.

...

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. We're Off to See the Wizards ... via ShareBro Jake. A Jeopardy question answer the contestants missed but you would definitely get.

2. Pickaxe and Roll. Measuring defense: George Karl's doing it wrong.

3. The Sporting Blog. Stephon Marbury just wants to fly again.

4. Blazers Edge. You'd be surprised how important the whole Darius Miles situation is for serious Blazers fans.

5. Queen City Hoops. I could (and sometimes do) read posts about Gerald Wallace all day, every day. This is a good one in the emerging genre.

6. FreeDarko. FanHouse's own Matt Watson documents the numerous excuses made to justify keeping Amir Johnson on the bench last season.

BONUS not-really-basketball Essential item: The New York Times on Philadelphia's large, beautiful murals. The 700 Level has the tenuous hoops hook: the amazing Dr. J piece on Ridge Avenue.

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Dallas Morning News. Josh Howard loves this country. In case you thought otherwise.

2. South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Pat Riley turns his evil sights on the Miami front office; Randy Pfund retires.

3. NBA.com. Gilbert Arenas may have gotten engaged, but he wasn't the one on his knee.

4. Bergen Record. Eddy Curry shows up to media day dressed like a pregnant woman, apparently not in good shape (even by Eddy Curry standards).

5. LA Times. Great read on the development of Andrew Bynum.

6. The Sporting Blog. The situation in Golden State is becoming unstable, as Chris Mullin looks to be on his way out.

Gilbert Arenas made an appearance at media day, but it was for photos only. He skipped out on the actual um, media portion of the commitment, and as such both he and the Wizards received $15,000 fines. The likely reason that Gilbert bailed is because he's tired of the questions about his knee. As he has said before, he can't understand why everyone is "tripping out" over his most recent surgery. But it's not like the topic never came up.

Sure, there were lighthearted stories involving wristbands and the growing out of afros. I mean, it is still the Wizards. But there were also plenty of questions about Gilbert's knee that his teammates were forced to answer, which is a position that I'm sure they would rather not have been in.

It was a thoughtless move by Gilbert -- still the team's biggest star -- to leave his teammates there answering all of the questions that he should have been there to answer himself. But it's not likely to cause any problems in that locker room. Gil is beloved by everyone in the organization, and by all the media in town as well. When he finally does meet the press (which is something he hasn't done since signing that $111 million dollar deal), I'm fairly certain all will be forgiven.

[via TSB]

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. TrueHoop. Spending a day with NBA referees. Tons of great notes in here.

2. Palm Beach Post. Michael Beasley comes ... err, clean: "And when asked if he was hiding in the hotel room when security first entered Beasley answered, 'Honestly, I don't know.' I'm not sure our young protagonist understands what that word means.

3. Ball in Europe. Highlights from Josh Childress' first preseason game in Greece.

4. OregonLive. Nate McMillan wants to dampen the high expectations facing the Blazers. Good luck.

5. Washington Post, via Bullets Forever. The Brendan Haywood-Etan Thomas war is over!

6. Sactown Royalty. (Self-link alert!) Investigating the causes of Sacramento's bloated salary.

Apologies, ladies: the NBA's quirkiest superstar is officially off the market. We found out yesterday that Gilbert Arenas has gotten engaged, to his long-time girlfriend and the mother of his two children, Laura Govan. Normally I wouldn't be encouraging any NBA player under the age of 30 to tie the knot, but since the relationship has gone through seven plus years of ups and downs, I suppose the two know what they're getting themselves into.

Gilbert gave the Post a gratuitous and innocuous quote on the matter:

"Life is about growth and getting smarter about the choices we make," Arenas said in an e-mail. "Being a husband and father will require both of those!"

Indeed it will. The couple has had an on-again, off-again history, with a breakup as recently as November of last year. And when you consider the fact that they overcame a messy paternity suit just a couple of years ago, the marriage is likely to withstand just about anything. And hey, if nothing else, it'll give Gilbert something to do while he's not playing basketball over the next few months.

I know, I know, "Impossible!" you cry. Sadly, it's true. Gilbert Arenas is going to miss up to a month of the regular season after minor surgery on his bionic frequently repaired knee.

The Washington Post reports Arenas had minor surgery this morning that "cleaned out some debris" from his knee and will be out until December. Arenas told reporters that he had planned all along on not participating in training camp or the preseason.

Well isn't that nice to know. In the words of Adam Sandler from The Wedding Singer, "Once again, things that could have been brought to my attention yesterday!" Don't you think it would have been nice to know if Arenas was going to ditch training camp and preseason before he went and re-signed for the 6-year, $111 million deal that was supposed to finally assure the reunion of Arenas, fellow re-signee Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler for a whole year? It's entirely possible that the Wizards were aware of this situation beforehand, but from the sound of the article, it doesn't seem like it. Arenas said it was slowing him down, so they decided to go ahead and do the surgery. He also mentions that he thinks it's a good thing.

"This should actually allow me to come back faster" he said. Well that's awesome. Oh, well. Wizards fans have gotten used to paying Arenas without actually having him play. And $111 million buys a ton of physical therapy. And a pool.

FanHouse's Tom Ziller argues his ranking of the top 50 players in the NBA.

Gilbert Arenas doesn't fit any prototype at hand. That, as we all know, leads to vast misunderstanding. Look at his field goal percentage and -- "Hey, it's Starbury for a new age." Wrong, absolutely wrong. Gil is more like an elite scorer -- Kobe, LeBron, 'Melo, old T-Mac -- who just happens to be short enough and a gifted enough passer to be a point guard.