Flip Saunders, Getting to Know Gilbert Arenas

Flip has spent a lot of time with Gil this summer, and likes what he’s seeing and hearing: “So, whether it’s over stone crab at Arenas’ favorite Chicago restaurant, through text messages or watching Arenas in about a half-dozen individual workouts in Washington, Saunders has been putting in the time to try to get to know Arenas. ‘There are a lot of people that think he is hard to deal with,” Saunders said. “I’ve never had a problem with guys that had passion for the game. But what has surprised me is how open he is. We’ve had a lot of talks about everything, including his relationships with all the coaches he had from junior high to high school to college to the NBA. I have a better understanding of where he’s coming from.”’