Celtis sign Darius Miles. Will this screw the Blazers?

[westkoast]

Thanks for the article Zig.

There is almost no doubt in my mind one of the lower seeded WC teams will try their hardest to get Darius Miles.  I know they cited Denver as one of the teams but I would think a number of WC teams would have to consider it.  Any of the botton 4 teams who made the playoffs the last few years have to consider it at least right?  The Blazers will take one of the playoff spots this year or next.  That looks to be pretty certain seeing as they have shown they are a talented team and can keep up with the likes of the Celtics, Lakers, and other more quality teams in this league.

Random side note...Benecio Del Toro was on The Colbert Report last night doing an interview for his new movie 'Che' and he was rocking a Portland Trail Blazers shirt.  Guess he is a big fan because it looked a little warn out like he's had it for a while.

[WayOutWest]

Another GM wondered whether the Blazers might pick Miles off waivers and just keep him on the bench, although it?s unlikely the NBA would allow that. Portland also has been collecting insurance money on Miles, and it just seems too unlikely that Allen and Pritchard would go to such an extreme. Nevertheless, the Blazers have an incredible amount to lose here.

I think it's unfair to Portland to not allow them to protect themselves.  Then again it's unfair to Miles if he truely just wants to play.

This could really screw up the years of hard work the Blazers have done to turn around the "Jail Blazers".  The Trailblazers are one of the great up and comming teams with good guys on the roster, it's a shame they will probably lose a few key pieces because a lazy pot smoking underachiever decided that NOW he REALLY wants to play in the NBA.

[Ted]

I think it's unfair to Portland to not allow them to protect themselves.

I rarely come in on the side of players like Miles, but the Blazers put themselves in this position by using what now seems like a somewhat dubious gambit to shed Miles' salary. If the guy truly could not play again, it would have made sense; but now it seems like it was an unnecessary risk.

[WayOutWest]

I think it's unfair to Portland to not allow them to protect themselves.

I rarely come in on the side of players like Miles, but the Blazers put themselves in this position by using what now seems like a somewhat dubious gambit to shed Miles' salary. If the guy truly could not play again, it would have made sense; but now it seems like it was an unnecessary risk.

My point is there is a way for Portland to protect themselves from their mistake/gamble.  They can sign him and sit him on the bench but the league might not allow it.  That is BS.  It's not like this is the make or break year for Miles.  If he sits on the bench all year then he can continue to rehab and stay in shape and be in a better position next year to make a team roster.

[westkoast]

I think it's unfair to Portland to not allow them to protect themselves.

I rarely come in on the side of players like Miles, but the Blazers put themselves in this position by using what now seems like a somewhat dubious gambit to shed Miles' salary. If the guy truly could not play again, it would have made sense; but now it seems like it was an unnecessary risk.

My point is there is a way for Portland to protect themselves from their mistake/gamble.  They can sign him and sit him on the bench but the league might not allow it.  That is BS.  It's not like this is the make or break year for Miles.  If he sits on the bench all year then he can continue to rehab and stay in shape and be in a better position next year to make a team roster.

Why didn't they do this in the first place?  Couldn't they have released him then picked him back up right after?

[WayOutWest]

I think it's unfair to Portland to not allow them to protect themselves.

I rarely come in on the side of players like Miles, but the Blazers put themselves in this position by using what now seems like a somewhat dubious gambit to shed Miles' salary. If the guy truly could not play again, it would have made sense; but now it seems like it was an unnecessary risk.

My point is there is a way for Portland to protect themselves from their mistake/gamble.  They can sign him and sit him on the bench but the league might not allow it.  That is BS.  It's not like this is the make or break year for Miles.  If he sits on the bench all year then he can continue to rehab and stay in shape and be in a better position next year to make a team roster.

Why didn't they do this in the first place?  Couldn't they have released him then picked him back up right after?

I think they didn't do it because they legitimately thought Darius was done. 

[ziggy]

I think it's unfair to Portland to not allow them to protect themselves.

I rarely come in on the side of players like Miles, but the Blazers put themselves in this position by using what now seems like a somewhat dubious gambit to shed Miles' salary. If the guy truly could not play again, it would have made sense; but now it seems like it was an unnecessary risk.

Ted,
By doing what they did they got insurance to pay for last years salary, and it will pay for this years and next years.  They had an independent 3rd party Dr. certify that he was physically unable to play, and his injury is effectively career ending, so the insurance kicked in.  Darius has played all of 9 minutes since April 15, 2006, started 4 games since Dec 2005, been released by 3 teams during that time, and been suspended for PED use.  There was no real risk in doing what they did, they would have had Darius on the books through next year in any case, but they would have had to pay his salary.

Darius getting to 10 games played means that his salary goes back on our book for cap purposes only.  With Miles on the books then our payroll for next year will be about $1.2 million over this years cap (that is assuming paying $1.5 to our 1st round pick).  Depending upon what we want to do, and if there is a FA that we really really want, and depending upon if the cap number increases, then we can renounce Channing Frye, Ike Diogu, Petteri Koponen, and Joel Freeland, and that would free up almost $10 million in salary.

[westkoast]

Zig do you know if they only consulted one doctor and not many?  I thought the golden rule of thumb in serious health issues that impact your life that you always get a second opinion.

[WayOutWest]

Zig do you know if they only consulted one doctor and not many?  I thought the golden rule of thumb in serious health issues that impact your life that you always get a second opinion.

This doc was probably the 3rd opinion.  Blazers doc said he couldn't play and Miles doc said he could.  Pot-head Miles never struck me as a player with any heart/dicipline, not the kind of guy who would work on his game in the gym or offseason so I don't get why he is so determined to make a comeback.  Take your money, get yourself a pound of sticky-icky, stay home and leave the Blazers out of your drama.

[westkoast]

Zig do you know if they only consulted one doctor and not many?  I thought the golden rule of thumb in serious health issues that impact your life that you always get a second opinion.

This doc was probably the 3rd opinion.  Blazers doc said he couldn't play and Miles doc said he could.  Pot-head Miles never struck me as a player with any heart/dicipline, not the kind of guy who would work on his game in the gym or offseason so I don't get why he is so determined to make a comeback.  Take your money, get yourself a pound of sticky-icky, stay home and leave the Blazers out of your drama.

No matter what happens he will always be a blazer.

Maybe the Clippers can re-sign him since they are going after his buddy Q.  I also heard they are going to trade for Andre Miller and Elton Brand as well.

[ziggy]

And yet another bit of intrigue in the ongoing Darius Miles saga.  The Blazers are pushing the limits here, and they open themselves to litigation from Miles.  I found the last comment equally disingenuous.  If a team signs him for 2 games and releases him, then that will be 4 teams that have released him in a year.  Yeah right he can play in this league, but 4 teams have released him in a year.



Blazers threaten litigation if Miles signed

By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
The Portland Trail Blazers sent an email to rival team executives late Thursday threatening possible litigation to any franchise that signs free-agent forward Darius Miles for the ?purpose of adversely impacting the Portland Trail Blazers? salary cap and tax positions.?

The email cites Wednesday?s Yahoo! Sports report that if Miles plays in two more games this season, the remaining $18 million on his contract goes back on the Blazers? payroll.

?The Portland Trail Blazers are aware that certain teams may be contemplating signing Darius Miles to a contract for the purpose of adversely impacting the Portland Trail Blazers Salary Cap and tax positions,? Blazers president Larry Miller wrote in the email to representatives of every NBA team. ?Such conduct by a team would violate its fiduciary duty as an NBA joint venturer. In addition, persons or entities involved in such conduct may be individually liable to the Portland Trail Blazers for tortuously interfering with the Portland Trail Blazers contract rights and perspective economic opportunities.

?Please be aware that if a team engages in such conduct, the Portland Trail Blazers will take all necessary steps to safeguard its rights, including, without limitation, litigation.?

Teams had been under the impression the collective bargaining agreement demanded that Miles play 10 regular-season or postseason games for the $18 million ? which is split evenly between this and next season ? to return to the Blazers? payroll. But the league office confirmed to Yahoo! Sports that the six preseason games that Miles played for the Boston Celtics counts toward the 10. Before the Memphis Grizzlies waived him on Tuesday night to avoid guaranteeing his contract for the rest of the season, Miles played two regular-season games that pushed him to eight total.

?They?re daring someone to sign him now,? said one Western Conference GM who had seen the email from the Blazers.

Any team in the NBA can sign Miles to a 10-day contract, play him twice and punch out one of the summer?s top free-agent destinations. The Blazers are a prime destination for free agents, and the cap space also made them a fierce competitor for sign-and-trade deals. If Miles returns to the salary cap, he also will push Portland into the luxury tax. That means every team under the tax would benefit with about $250,000 of revenue sharing from Portland.

?The point that everybody is missing is that this isn?t about Portland?s salary cap. It?s about whether this guy [Miles] is healthy enough to play or not,? said an Eastern Conference executive. ?He obviously is healthy enough to play. It doesn?t matter how good he plays. He can still play, and they said he couldn?t.

?Portland received benefits when [Miles?] injury was ruled career-ending. If he can play, they don?t deserve to have those benefits.?

[westkoast]

Hmm...I don't think threatening the league is the way to go.

Zigs you do have a point.  Four teams have given up on him.  Though it could be for any number of reasons.  Including not really having a need for what he can do or him not getting the system quick enough.  The thing is if he can play, he can play, and the Blazers should not have got the benefit of a career-ending injury pay off/out if that is the case.

[Joe Vancil]

I think it's unfair to Portland to not allow them to protect themselves.

I rarely come in on the side of players like Miles, but the Blazers put themselves in this position by using what now seems like a somewhat dubious gambit to shed Miles' salary. If the guy truly could not play again, it would have made sense; but now it seems like it was an unnecessary risk.

My point is there is a way for Portland to protect themselves from their mistake/gamble.  They can sign him and sit him on the bench but the league might not allow it.  That is BS.  It's not like this is the make or break year for Miles.  If he sits on the bench all year then he can continue to rehab and stay in shape and be in a better position next year to make a team roster.

My question is "Why would Miles do that?"  If he wants to play, he won't sign with the Blazers.  And if he signs with the Blazers, then he's just doing this for the money, which, in my mind, validates the Blazers dumping him in the first place.

Portland really has no recourse.  They were foolish to sign this guy to such a lucrative deal in the first place.

[WayOutWest]

Zig do you know if they only consulted one doctor and not many?  I thought the golden rule of thumb in serious health issues that impact your life that you always get a second opinion.

This doc was probably the 3rd opinion.  Blazers doc said he couldn't play and Miles doc said he could.  Pot-head Miles never struck me as a player with any heart/dicipline, not the kind of guy who would work on his game in the gym or offseason so I don't get why he is so determined to make a comeback.  Take your money, get yourself a pound of sticky-icky, stay home and leave the Blazers out of your drama.

No matter what happens he will always be a blazer.

Maybe the Clippers can re-sign him since they are going after his buddy Q.  I also heard they are going to trade for Andre Miller and Elton Brand as well.

What planet you from?  Miles will always be a Clipper!  He and Q used to light it up in the NBA sometimes, street baller style!

[ziggy]

This isn't a surprise.  I would have been stunned if they didn't file a grievance, this is kind of the point of being in a union.

Union to file grievance against Blazers over Miles
Posted by The Associated Press January 09, 2009 14:51PM
Categories: NBA

NEW YORK (AP) The NBA players' association plans to file a grievance against the Portland Trail Blazers, who have threatened litigation against any NBA club considering signing Darius Miles.

The former Trail Blazers forward is attempting a comeback - a potentially very expensive one for the Blazers - from major knee surgery.

If Miles plays in two more games this season, Portland would be on the hook for $18 million - the amount remaining on Miles' contract, which would count against Portland's salary cap and force the team to pay luxury tax.

"We are shocked at the brazen attempt by the Portland Trail Blazers to try to prevent Darius Miles from continuing his NBA career," players' association director Billy Hunter said in a statement.

"Their attempt to intimidate the other 29 NBA teams by threatening frivolous litigation merely for signing this capable NBA veteran is a clear violation of the anti-collusion and other provisions of our Collective Bargaining Agreement. We will vigorously defend Darius' rights."

Hours before Miles cleared waivers Friday, Portland team president Larry Miller sent an e-mail to the other 29 NBA teams warning of legal action if a team were to take Miles simply to adversely impact Portland's salary cap.

"Persons or entities involved in such conduct may be individually liable to the Portland Trail Blazers for tortuously interfering with the Portland Trail Blazers contract rights and perspective economic opportunities," Miller's e-mail reads, according to SI.com and Yahoo.com, which obtained it. "Please be aware that if a team engages in such conduct, the Portland Trail Blazers will take all necessary steps to safeguard its rights, including, without limitation, litigation."

As a result of Miller's e-mail, the issue was scheduled to be discussed Friday at a previously scheduled meeting between NBA and players' union attorneys.

"Under league rules, teams are free to sign Darius Miles to a Uniform Player Contract if they wish to secure his services as a player, and any such contract would be approved by the NBA," the league said in a memo sent to teams.

Miles' contract would become guaranteed for the rest of the season if he plays in 10 games. He already has played in eight games this season - six preseason games for the Boston Celtics, then two games for the Memphis Grizzlies before being released earlier his week.

The Trail Blazers did not immediately return messages left by The Associated Press seeking comment Friday. Miles' agent, Jeff Wechsler, could not be reached for comment.

Portland waived Miles, who has not played for the team since microfracture surgery on his right knee in November 2006, at the end of last season after determining he was medically unable to play.

Miles, the third overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2000 NBA draft, was on the Blazers' roster from 2004-08. He signed a six-year, $48 million deal with the team in September 2004.

In 414 career games, he has averaged 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.15 blocks.

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AP Sports Writer Anne Peterson in Portland, Ore. contributed to this report.