THE BOX OUT PICK AND POPS 1. Tim Duncan: 36 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks. Kobe Bryant: 42 points and five assists. How will Jason Kidd ever hold these guys off for MVP? QUOTE OF THE DAY “Lack of professionalism off the court." —Ex-Sonics coach Paul Westphal's blunt explanation for the downward turn in the game of Vin Baker. NUMBER OF THE DAY 22 The Warriors' win total after Tuesday's 116-113 victory at Atlanta, which is one more than they had all of last season. TRASH TALK You had your say. So here are the best comments: My Warriors are finally turning it around and are starting to win. If Gilbert Arenas leaves, the Warriors will be back in the celler. Please stay, Gilbert. We need you. You are our best player and we finally have a good point guard. Scott Duncan, Palo Alto, Calif. To let Arenas go would be a tremendous shame for a team finally coming back to respectibility. It has been a long time since another talented player the Warriors let go: his name was Chris Webber. Brian Yee, San Francisco Is Joe Lago for real? The Warriors get LeBron James, don't pay Arenas so he leaves, then employs the most hyped NBA prospect ever to pass the ball to Jason Richardson because of "Magic-like vision"? C'mon, I know who I'd rather have receiving the ball and hoisting the shots. Ditch Richardson, pay Arenas to give the ball to LeBron, and move out of the way! Ryan Walmsley, Sydney, Australia If we get Lebron James, I know that God must be a Warriors fan. He will be a great player but keeping the team together is most important. All I know is that the Warriors are showing heart and playing defense. Anything can happen. Ask the Anaheim Angels. Edgar Weber, San Mateo, Calif. It's just like the athelete of today to trade loyalty for money. Let's be realistic. Most of these guys are set for life at the league minimum but would trade being on a winner for cash. What a shame. Jeff Schmidt, San Angelo, Texas Yeah, I know I'm a Laker fan on the East Coast (there's quite a few). I'd love to see Gil Arenas in a Lakers uniform next year playing PG. He's a budding star with deadly range. Cory Booker, Glen Allen, Va.

If LeBron James works his first job predominantly as a point guard for some lucky lottery winner, as some have predicted since his knack for passing is his most NBA-ready skill, then count the Golden State Warriors as a team in need.

Among all the current non-playoff qualifiers, the Warriors, believe it or not, would be one of the worst teams for James if he began his pro (OK, NBA) career having to play shooting guard and/or small forward. Jason Richardson, Antawn Jamison and Mike Dunleavy currently occupy those spots.

But if everything happens as expected, the Warriors will be in need of a point guard, especially a 6-foot-8, 240-pound kid with Magic-like vision, because Gilbert Arenas remaining a Warrior after this season is about as unlikely as Golden State winning the No. 1 pick in May.

Arenas, Golden State's emerging second-year point guard, could stay in Oakland. But he'll have only a $4.5 million-a-year, mid-level exception awaiting him at the table. As a restricted free agent this summer, he's sure to have bigger bucks waved in front of him by clubs with plenty of salary-cap room, the rebuilding Denver Nuggets for one.

Arenas' MVP performance in the Rookie Challenge during All-Star Weekend showed teams what they're missing and what the Warriors will likely be without next season.

"I try not to think about stuff like that," said Arenas, who may want to consider making Philips Arena his home court after following up Saturday's 30-point MVP effort with 37 points against the Hawks on Tuesday.

"I'm just having fun. I came in with Troy Murphy and Jason Richardson and I'd love to stay with them for the rest of my career. They're great guys. We've been through ups and downs with each other."

Why would Arenas want to leave a franchise that he has helped get back on its feet and walking toward respectability again? The reason, ironically, would be because of a lack of respect.

The in-season signing of Earl Boykins and his surprising success as a sixth man made for one of the great first-half stories. But coach Eric Musselman's decision to play Boykins in fourth quarters has come at the expense of Arenas, who's usually on the bench watching the 5-5 Boykins finish games.

An unexcused absence last month by Arenas and Richardson, who normally gets subbed for by Bobby Sura in fourth quarters, was perceived as a one-practice boycott of Musselman's way of working crunch time. The agent of Arenas and Richardson, Dan Fegan, tried to extinguish speculation about his clients' unhappiness by attributing their AWOL to illness and injury as well as miscommunication (he tried to call Warriors general manager Garry St. Jean).

Arenas has been trying to prove he can play the point in the NBA ever since draft day in 2001, when he slid to the second round, says Murphy.

"Gilbert wasn't respected coming into the draft. He didn't play the first half (of last season)," Murphy said. "He's made significant improvement over the last year, and it's been really good for him. I'm really happy for him."

Arenas still may have trouble making the simple pass on fast breaks -- he leads the team in assists (6.3 per game) and turnovers (3.3, 10th highest in the league) -- but Warriors fans would rather see a botched 2-on-1 every now and then instead of seeing yet another young talent blossom into an All-Star somewhere else.

"I hope like hell he's back," Murphy said. "He's a real big part of our future. He's going to be a great player."

Joe Lago, the NBA editor for ESPN.com, writes the Morning Shootaround every Wednesday and Friday.