Darius Miles signed big contracts then half-assed it in practice and on the court. No one should feel sorry for him.
Boston is trying to make another championship run. What use do they have for an unskilled, out of shape, malcontent who's been nothing but trouble since he signed the big contract? I won't bore you with a list of Miles' problems but take my word for it. He's also been out of basketball for several years and has put on a LOT of weight, so calling him a "veteran" is a huge stretch. He needs to get re-acclimated to the NBA. The Celts gave Miles the courtesy of an invitation, but please don't compare him with Smith or Howard because there is no comparison. Why does he show up? Nobody knows but him. Miles is an unstable guy. Maybe he wants to stick it to the Blazers (which is my guess). Maybe he and people around him realize he needs to be busy with something to keep him out of trouble. Again, there is no reason to pity him because he doesn't know if "Portland called the night before". professorjay, as you probably know, Miles did a lot worse than that in Portland. The Cavs were lucky.
Grizzlies waive Darius Miles. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/jan/07/no-headline---2009-01-06-230833894376/?partner=RSS 8 more games.
Yeah, and they way we're playing lately, there will probably be at least 10 games where he can get garbage minutes.
I wonder why Darius Miles is even trying to play while he's so fat. I mean, I'm sure he loves basketball and wants to continue to play as long as he can but he can't do anything he used to do with all that weight.
Grizzlies waive Miles to end his comeback attempt By MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Posted Jan 7 2009 11:46AM The Memphis Grizzlies waived forward Darius Miles, who was trying to make a comeback after a two-year absence following knee surgery. Miles was cut by the Boston Celtics in the preseason and signed with Memphis on Dec. 13. The 27-year-old also served a 10-game league suspension after his signing for violating the league's drug policy. The third overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2000 NBA draft became the first player in league history drafted straight out of high school to earn All-Rookie honors. Miles holds career averages of 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.15 blocks in 27.6 minutes in 414 career games with Memphis, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers. http://www.nba.com/2009/news/01/07/010709grizzlies.miles.ap/index.html
Miles needs to play in 2 more games to screw over Portland. Many people assumed he had to play 10 regular season games - however, Yahoo Sports learned that preseason games count towards the total, something everyone was ignoring at first. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...lug=aw-milesblazers010709&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
The only owner in the league who has the balls to do this is Cuban. If the Mavs don't pick him up for these remaining games IMO no one else will.
it seems every manager in the league is hoping someone picks him up but no one wants to be the one to do it. Also, a quote from the article "Most NBA executives are reveling in the fact that clogging the Portland cap could be a way to slow the rapid rise of the franchise. Beyond that, there is a level of jealousy over the way that Portland’s owner, Paul Allen, buys up draft picks from poorer teams for his GM to use."
two more games to screw the Blazers... and everyone gets a quarter million Round Robin Roshambo tournament to see who signs D Miles. Maloofs and Cuban in the Finals
The best scenario (or worst for Portland) would be if no one signs Miles under AFTER the trade deadline, and then Miles plays his two more games. This way, Portland cannot make any last minute trades to affect its cap situation. If no one ends up signing him for fear of retribution from the Blazers, I will be really pissed. While few teams have the motivation to get back at Portland that the Rockets do (after getting screwed by the Blazers with the Brandon Roy pick and the Rudy Fernandez pick in back-to-back drafts), I would prefer if Daryl Morey was not the one to bring a pox upon our house. Let the pox fall elsewhere.
One thing is clear: Any team that signs Miles is doing it specifically to hurt the Blazers. If I were a franchise, it wouldn't be worth the animosity it could cause. I have found it's better to have positive business relationships whenever possible, even with competitors. Enemies will bite you and chop off your legs when you least expect it. Some of my competitors have been victims of this to my benefit. I'm guessing he'll play two more games this season and then disappear to be never heard from again in a basketball sense. I believe Miles primary motivation is to stick the Blazers.
I could imagine hoping another team would screw the Blazers over. But I couldn't imagine being the guy to actually do it. You'd instantly be hated by a whole city...
Man... Blazers' talents are the only reason no on wants to sign Miles. Once everyone starts getting extensions and pay raise... they have to trade some players to other teams, unless their owner seriously doesn't care about $$$ like Cuban... I think the Thunders should sign him for veteran leadership.
And now this: The Portland Trail Blazers have issued an unusual warning to rival NBA teams who are thinking about hiring their former player Darius Miles: Put Miles on the court, say the Blazers, and we may sue you. `"The Portland Trail Blazers will take all necessary steps to safeguard its rights, including, without limitation, litigation,'' wrote Blazers president Larry Miller in an e-mail addressed late Thursday night to all NBA team presidents and general managers. SI.com was provided access to the memo by an NBA team executive. More here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/01/09/Blazers.Miles/index.html Seems to me that unless a team exec says something stupid publicly, it would be damn near impossible for the Blazers to prove someone signed and played Miles specifically to hurt Portland financially.
