Quick, sad, could be worse, just might be worse news: The Wizards will have to once again start the season without their numero uno, and everyone's favorite basketball eccentric, Gilbert Arenas. From Wizards Insider, via Ball Don't Lie:

Gilbert Arenas confirmed that he underwent a surgical procedure this morning that "cleaned out some debris" in his left knee. Arenas, who has undergone two surgeries to repair the left knee in the last two seasons, has been limited during the rehab process all summer and said he has planned all along on not participating in training camp or the preseason. Arenas, who signed a six-year, $111 million contract this summer, said he plans on returning to game action sometime in early December which would mean that he'd miss at least the season's first month.

"I just had some floating debris in there that was slowing me down," said Arenas, who seemed to be in good spirits. "It was irritating the knee so we decided to go in there and clean it out. This should actually allow me to come back faster."

I'm trying to stay positive here. Bear in mind, a year or two ago, Gil would still have been seen as ahead of schedule in a microfracture comeback. Better safe than sorry, the Wizards can play without him, and this isn't the end of the world -- for now. (Reality check: If you just look at the URL for the BDL page, it appears he'll miss the whole season.)

But this could augur future problems, set off all those "are they better without Arenas" arguments we went through last season, and along those same lines, lose valuable time when it comes to integrating Agent Zero into a team that's found an indentity without him. It's only a month of the first half, which doesn't matter, except for when it does. See also Ellis, Monta. And let's not forget that with the Celtics not quite old yet, the Cavs having made some improvements, the Pistons seamlessly bringing on their youth movement, Miami bearing nuclear arms, and Toronto reformulating itself, the East is no longer a place where teams can bide their time and fumble around till they get their footing.

All in all, a huge blow to the Wizards, us fans, and the league. Get well soon, dear friend!

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