Grunfeld Dismisses Big Trade Rumors

Rumors that the Washington Wizards were interested in trading Gilbert Arenas for disgruntled Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant made the rounds on the Internet, radio and television yesterday, but team president Ernie Grunfeld shot down the possible deal.

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"I don't normally comment on rumors but there is no truth to this rumor," Grunfeld said when reached by phone last evening. "We've never had any conversations with the Lakers or with anyone else about Gilbert."

The rumors surfaced when a column in yesterday's Chicago Tribune, citing an unnamed general manager, labeled the Wizards as the "dark horse" among teams that might put together a trade for Bryant.

According to the column and chatter it created, the Wizards would have to part with a package that would include Arenas, who plans to opt out of contract next summer, to get Bryant.

Bryant has a no-trade clause and an expensive trade kicker, and he has never expressed an interest in playing for the Wizards.

The team that has been mentioned the most in the Bryant sweepstakes is the Chicago Bulls. But to make such a deal happen, Chicago would likely have to part with budding superstar Luol Deng, and Bulls General Manager John Paxson is reportedly reluctant to do so.

Arenas Is 'Ready'

After allowing Arenas to set his own pace during the preseason, Coach Eddie Jordan said he would take a similar approach to handling his star guard when the regular season opens tomorrow night at Indiana.

Arenas, who underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee in April, played in five of eight preseason games. He had the knee drained of excess fluid on Oct. 17 and said he was feeling and moving much better in the days that followed.

However, the first month of the season should test Arenas and his teammates. It opens with three games in four nights, includes five sets of back-to-back games and closes with a four-game road trip.

"It's about how he feels, and we'll go from there," Jordan said. "He's ready -- he's not the real Gil yet -- but he's ready. I see him out there really quick with his moves, driving and things like that. He may fatigue a little bit quicker but that doesn't mean a whole lot because he plays a lot. Already, I see a little bit of fatigue but that's human nature."

Arenas, who selected schools that will benefit from his "Scores for Schools" program yesterday [story in Metro, Page B3], has repeatedly said he will place no limits on himself.

"It's about playing," Arenas said. "It's not about monitoring. It's about trying to win. You know it's a knee injury. When you're coming back you're going to have days where it feels good, some days where it doesn't feel so good, but you've just got to bounce back and play hard every game."

Pecherov Sidelined

Rookie Oleksiy Pecherov is expected to miss from one to two weeks with a sprained right ankle.

Pecherov, who wasn't likely to factor into Jordan's regular rotation, suffered the injury during Sunday's practice and was wearing a walking boot and using crutches yesterday.