(My Sportsbook) - The Washington Wizards have undergone some wholesale changes since the end of the 2002-03 season. Michael Jordan is no longer with the organization. Doug Collins is out as head coach, and has been replaced by former Nets assistant Eddie Jordan. Ernie Grunfeld left the Milwaukee Bucks, and is now the president of basketball operations with Washington.

It's extremely rare for an organization to take on such a vastly different look from one season to the next, but in this case, there really was no other option. When a personality like Michael Jordan's leaves a franchise, whole new identity is needed. Collins was Michael Jordan's choice as coach, so he also had to be replaced. Eddie Jordan is widely regarded around the NBA as a great coaching prospect.

The Wizards have spent their early summer fortifying their backcourt. They drafted Jarvis Hayes out of Georgia with the 10th overall selection. Hayes is the first two-time consensus First-Team All-SEC selection in two decades (Dominique Wilkins 1981-82) and the school's top scorer the past two seasons. At 6-7, he has great size for a shooting guard. Washington also drafted point guard Steve Blake out of Maryland with the 38th overall selection.

Washington also dipped into the guard pool of veteran talent. In addition to securing Jerry Stackhouse with a two-year contract extension, the Wizards signed restricted free agent Gilbert Arenas to an offer sheet.

Arenas, who spent the past two seasons with the Golden State Warriors, has accepted an offer from the Wizards believed to be in the $65 million range.

"Gilbert is an outstanding young player who fits in very well with the core of our team," said Grunfeld. "The team is full of talented young players who can grow together and be a playoff contender for years to come."

Arenas, 21, had also been coveted by the Los Angeles Clippers, who offered the guard a six-year contract worth $64 million. However, Arenas was apparently intrigued by the idea of playing in new Washington head coach Eddie Jordan's free-flowing offense.

Golden State can still match Washington's offer, but since the Warriors are nearly $5 million over the salary cap and can only offer him the $4.9 million mid-level exception next season, it is unlikely that Arenas will elect to go back there.

"Gilbert is an outstanding talent and he will have an immediate impact on the growth of this team," noted Jordan. "He has a strong passion for the game and the ability to do great things in this league and he will be an asset to our organization."

Last season, Arenas averaged 18.3 points, 6.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds in 82 games for Golden State en route to winning the NBA's Most Improved Player Award.

Arenas' 2002-03 season was highlighted by a career-high 41 points against Washington on March 23.

The Warriors selected Arenas out of Arizona with the 31st overall selection in the 2001 NBA Draft.

He played two seasons at the University of Arizona, averaging 15.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 70 games. He ranked 25th on the Arizona career scoring list with 1,105 points when he left school, becoming just the sixth player in school history to reach the 1,000 point plateau as a sophomore.