No basketball game is over until the final buzzer and the same goes for an NBA contract. Teams and players can agree on the years and money, but until both sides put pen to paper, nothing is truly guaranteed.
According to former Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas , that's the lesson his former Wizards teammate Andray Blatche learned the hard way. Blatche was supposed to sign a big rookie-deal extension with Washington in 2007. Still, before the team could put in writing what they had agreed upon, Dray was already moving as if the commissioner's office had approved the contract.
"Andray Blatche, I'm sorry. I watched in real time, they offered him, they came to an agreement, it was five-year, like $42 to $49 million. He got so excited, celebrated the Andray Blatche way: 'Have worked with them, to get more work.' And unfortunately, that 'work' that was sitting on the road was an undercover cop. Got busted," narrated Gil.
Blatche was the Wizards' 49th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft out of South Kent High School. Although he averaged just 3.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game across 85 games played in his first two NBA seasons, he showed plenty of promise and had the potential to be an impact player. And so when he became an unrestricted free agent in 2007, the Wizards were looking to lock him up for the future.
However, Blatche and a male friend were arrested in D.C. for soliciting sex from a female who turned out to be an undercover police officer for the prostitution enforcement unit. Gil claims the Wizards changed their offer. But instead of negotiating it, Andray was worried his legal woes would come back to him and so he ended up taking the much lower deal.
"The brung him in the office and said 'Ah, we're going to change the deal. $15 million. We still wat him five years. We still want you for five years. $15 million for five years. We was like 'Woah, wait a minute, Dray.' If they changed the years, that makes sense. But just the number, they still want your a– for five years, no matter what? Hold out, But he already got scared and netted that. I said 'Oh man, ain't that.' I was like 'Damn, she had to be bad.' $80 cost you $20 something million," Arenas added.
And so Blatche went on to sign the five-year $15 million offer from the Wizards. A month later, prosecutors agreed to drop the case against Andray after he agreed to attend a one-day counseling. He would later say that the incident was a joke gone bad.
"Nobody had money on them. Nobody had no money in the car, period," he said . "I was young, immature and playing around. She was not dressed as a prostitute, first of all. She was in front of the club while we was talking trash playing around. For me, talking to her automatically made it soliciting."
Blatche went on to play all 82 games during the 2007-08 season and doubled his previous year's scoring average to 7.5 per game, while also averaging 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. He continued to improve, raising his scoring average into double digits the next season to impress the Wizards.
In the summer of 2010, the organization decided to renegotiate his contract and give him his due, adding three years and $28 million to his remaining deal, for a total of $35 million over the next five years.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Sep 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
