# Miles Ready to Play



## c_note (Jan 30, 2007)

Here's the link. http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=119973980613987400




> • As for Darius Miles, who is 14 months removed from his microfracture knee surgery, the message is more hazy.
> 
> “He still has a ways to go,” McMillan says. “So far, he’s mostly been doing one-on-one or two-on-two stuff.”
> 
> ...


It will be so strange to watch him on the court again. I bet if he doesn't "fit in" right away, they'd probably like to ship him out for a first-rounder and change.


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## darkhelmit54 (Jan 23, 2005)

It'd be really really nice if he came back and looked fairly decent for a couple of weeks averaging like 15 min a game, I think it'd come at the expense of Frye more than anyone else as we need a more physical 3/4 probably and no way Travis or Jones get their minutes cut. Don't get me wrong I don't want him here at all, but I'd love for him to increase his trade value, and prove he can play. I'd look to move him for a contract that expires sooner and preferably a more physical 3/4 like him who can help us for the rest of this season and help give us that extra cap room in 09. This trade I've been posting in some trade threads and I really think it'd make sense, Isaiah is desperate too so he's probably willing to make any sort of move.

Jack and Miles to NY
Fred Jones and Malik Rose to Portland

Darius would have to get some run and look decent for it to happen. But we'd get a hometown boy back who we screwed over already. In addition Jones is a much better defender than Jack, much better on the break, and looked pretty good playing with Roy last year as a short SG who can defend PG's. He would also play much better with Sergio off the bench than Jack currently does, as it looks like a tug of war out there, and he expires at the end of the year clearing room and time for Rudy and picks on the roster. Rose would give us some veteran tougness and rebounding while being ecstatic to be out of NY. it would definetely kill the feel good story of Darius getting his life straight, but it'd be offset by people happy the last of jailblazer image is gone, and would darius really care getting to play in NY with Zach and Q?

Isaiah likes long athletic players a lot, and NY could probably use some dunks and athleticism at the 3/4, and they are desperate. However Darius would need to get playing again, which is feasible for February. Jack gives them a player who knows how to feed the post and run a half-court set w/o being too selfish and some competetive desire and pride.

This move gives us increased cap flexibility, greater frontcourt depth, and adresses a weakness of perimeter D and getting some easy points out on the break. I think it helps us for the present and future.

NY might want this sweetened a bit though, as they are paying that last year of Darius' contract.

for the rest fo the year
Blake/Sergio/Green
Roy/Jones
Webster/Jones/Mcroberts
Aldridge/Outlaw/Rose
Pryzbilla/Frye/Raef


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## YardApe (Mar 10, 2005)

They should ship him now, he didn't want to be a Blazer last year and now he wants in cause this team has direction. Sorry! To little, to late! Gone!


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## mediocre man (Feb 24, 2004)

c_note said:


> Here's the link. http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=119973980613987400
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I think they'd be ecstatic to ship him out for a second rounder and happily give them change


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## Tortimer (Jun 4, 2007)

c_note said:


> Here's the link. http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=119973980613987400
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I really doubt if he doesn't fit in they could trade him for anything except maybe a player with a worse contract. Nobody is going to give us a 1st round pick. If he doesn't fit in I would be happy if we could package him with another player and get rid of him. Even that probably isn't going to happen. I could see the Blazers buying him out or just letting him sit on the bench. If he makes any problems on the bench they would have to probably just cut him. Lets hope he comes back and can play and fits in.


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## alext42083 (Nov 7, 2003)

I just can't envision Miles ever playing as a Blazer again.
He just seems to be that last piece of the old era that needs to be gone although he has seemed to be on good behavior the past year or so.
And Darius certainly can't be traded. Who wants a guy fresh off microfracture with three years and boatload of money left?

Thanks John Nash for signing Miles to this contract.


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## c_note (Jan 30, 2007)

mediocre man said:


> I think they'd be ecstatic to ship him out for a second rounder and happily give them change


Well, yeah. He still has potential to be a decent player. He's only 26 or so still. Someone will be interested enough to cough up a draft pick I think.


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## Tortimer (Jun 4, 2007)

c_note said:


> Well, yeah. He still has potential to be a decent player. He's only 26 or so still. Someone will be interested enough to cough up a draft pick I think.


No way anybody would be that dumb IMO.


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## c_note (Jan 30, 2007)

Tortimer said:


> No way anybody would be that dumb IMO.


You would be surprised. I'd call NY first.


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## andalusian (Jun 29, 2006)

The best thing that could happen is that Miami gets hot and is in playoffs contention and Riley is willing to pull the trigger on Miles for an expiring. I have very little hope that this will happen.

Probably best to "keep him away" and "not rush him" and hope he can be packaged or cut in the off-season.


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## STOMP (Jan 1, 2003)

c_note said:


> It will be so strange to watch him on the court again. I bet if he doesn't "fit in" right away, they'd probably love to ship him out with a first-rounder and boatload of cash... but even that is highly unlikely.


fixed it for you

STOMP


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## B_&_B (Feb 19, 2004)

So far, I like darkhelmits scenario the best.

I think Miles gets a little bit of a bad rap. He hasnt been involved in any real serious off court incidents, nothing close to what Zach or Damon had done.

With the trade deadline coming on March 21st, I wouldnt be surprised to see us get Darius some minutes to boost any value he may have... but that also could backfire and destroy any value he has.

Regardless, I wish Miles the best and hope he comes back and becomes a 15 pt, 6 rb, 4 asst type player in the league.


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## blazermaniaisback (Jun 7, 2007)

From the boos I hear every time they show him in the "Rain" intro at the games, I don't think to many fans want to see him back in a Trail Blazers uniform. I know I don't and I'm also pretty sure management knows that the fans don't want him back. They know we as fans are getting back into the team with the tickets sales over the last month and the noise level a the RG so would they really want to jeopardize upsetting everyone with bringing back someone they know we don't want on the court?


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## NateBishop3 (Jul 22, 2003)

alext42083 said:


> Thanks John Nash for signing Miles to this contract.


We all wanted to re-sign DMiles and anyone who says otherwise is probably lying. He had a really good year for us going into free agency and we really wanted to re-sign him. He and Zach were a huge part of our future. There really wasn't any way to predict what became of this once promising young player.


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## B_&_B (Feb 19, 2004)

NateBishop3 said:


> We all wanted to re-sign DMiles and anyone who says otherwise is probably lying. He had a really good year for us going into free agency and we really wanted to re-sign him. He and Zach were a huge part of our future. There really wasn't any way to predict what became of this once promising young player.


:clap: 

I'd say that 90% of us where all over the Miles bandwagon back then and wanted to see him re-sign with us. He was a fan favorite back then... remember him in all those Joe's (GI JOE's at the time) commercials etc?


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## STOMP (Jan 1, 2003)

NateBishop3 said:


> We all wanted to re-sign DMiles and anyone who says otherwise is probably lying.


you must not have been with us yet... there was a lot of disagreement. Personally I only wanted him to be resigned if they were willing to use their players with expiring contracts (Damon, VanX, DDavis) to add to the mix. And regardless of that, I definitely didn't want them to resign him at above an MLE rate. No lies



> He had a really good year for us going into free agency and we really wanted to re-sign him. He and Zach were a huge part of our future. There really wasn't any way to predict what became of this once promising young player.


injuries have derailed the careers of much better players then DM... hopefully our current youngins are luckier.

STOMP


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## blazermaniaisback (Jun 7, 2007)

yes I liked him at the time... then after getting his big money contract he got lazy, never ran down the court and was always looking for the flashy dunk or ally oop. I will admit it I like him but now he is just a waste of space on out bench and a waste to Paul's checks.


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## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

exactly where are the minutes going to come from for Darius? Backup 4...NO that's Channing and Travis..Backup 3..NO..that's James and Travis..Backup 2..NO..that's Jarrett and James


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## mook (Dec 31, 2002)

I'm normally all about getting the most value I can out of our talent. That's the way you get to contending. 

But we're in an exceptional situation right now. When you've won 15 of 16 games, you'd be an idiot to mess with anything. We've got a real catch-22. Nobody wants Miles until he proves he can play. We don't want Miles because we're already playing phenomenally. 

Let him practice and continue to work with him, but leave him on the bench. We're running 10 players right now. At some point one or two of them is bound to get injured, and a little playing time will emerge. Everybody in our rotation except Sergio can play multiple positions, so it'll be pretty easy to shuffle guys around and make space for Miles when the minutes are available.


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## Ukrainefan (Aug 1, 2003)

It's unfortunate it's not possible to send him to the D-league to showcase him.


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## B_&_B (Feb 19, 2004)

duckworthstolemylunch said:


> yes I liked him at the time... then after getting his big money contract he got lazy, never ran down the court and was always looking for the flashy dunk or ally oop. I will admit it I like him but now he is just a waste of space on out bench and a waste to Paul's checks.


Darius said several times that his knee was a mess back then and that was why he couldnt play like he did previously.


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## B_&_B (Feb 19, 2004)

mook said:


> I'm normally all about getting the most value I can out of our talent. That's the way you get to contending.
> 
> But we're in an exceptional situation right now. When you've won 15 of 16 games, you'd be an idiot to mess with anything. We've got a real catch-22. Nobody wants Miles until he proves he can play. We don't want Miles because we're already playing phenomenally.
> 
> Let him practice and continue to work with him, but leave him on the bench. We're running 10 players right now. At some point one or two of them is bound to get injured, and a little playing time will emerge. Everybody in our rotation except Sergio can play multiple positions, so it'll be pretty easy to shuffle guys around and make space for Miles when the minutes are available.


I agree. 

What about M.Rose straight accross for Darius? Darius has one more year on his deal than Rose does, so that could easily hold NY back. But Rose isnt playing and isnt happy in NY, and if Darius can play, he'd help them more than Rose is/would.

I dont think you guys have to worry about Darius distrubting the locker room. Roy is the leader and Darius is a follower. Darius seems to be a pretty quiet natured guy, he wont stir up any trouble.


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## NateBishop3 (Jul 22, 2003)

STOMP said:


> you must not have been with us yet... there was a lot of disagreement. Personally I only wanted him to be resigned if they were willing to use their players with expiring contracts (Damon, VanX, DDavis) to add to the mix. And regardless of that, I definitely didn't want them to resign him at above an MLE rate. No lies
> 
> 
> injuries have derailed the careers of much better players then DM... hopefully our current youngins are luckier.
> ...


I was here. That was my first year covering the team. Miles was a fan favorite. That was back when he was still slashing to the hoop and attacking the rim. Of course those days are long gone.


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## ProudBFan (Apr 29, 2003)

I certainly was one of those who wanted to see the Blazers sign Miles to his current contract. He was playing really, really well leading up to that point.

In hindsight, however, it seems his good performance prior to re-signing was simply part of the whole "contract year" shenanigans. Once he got his contract, his attitude took a steep nose-dive. I don't know the reasons and, frankly, I don't want to. But to cuss out your coach and put on civvies in protest during a game is flat-out inexcusable.

I think it was YardApe who said earlier in this thread that Miles wants to be part of this team now that the team has direction and demonstrated potential for great things in the not-too-distant future. I know those aren't the exact words, but that's the gist. And I couldn't agree more. I would want guys on this team who actually put their noses to the grindstone during the "dark days" and made _positive_ contributions toward making things better... not guys who saw it going nowhere and gave up and/or made the situation worse with their own petty agendas.

Hmmm... James Jones or Darius Miles? Not even close.

As far as I'm concerned, as soon as Miles is ready to run full-speed he can run full-speed right out of Portland. I am not convinced that cat has changed his spots, and I don't want anything close to the kind of attitude he exhibited before being sidelined anywhere near the good chemistry the currently-active players have going.

Heal him up and ship him out, Blazers.

**** OFF, Darius. You had your chance to show what you were made of. And you did. This team doesn't need it, or you.

PBF


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## mook (Dec 31, 2002)

B_&_B said:


> What about M.Rose straight accross for Darius? Darius has one more year on his deal than Rose does, so that could easily hold NY back. But Rose isnt playing and isnt happy in NY, and if Darius can play, he'd help them more than Rose is/would.



I guess I could live with that deal. Miles could actually be useful in New York. we unload an unwanted contract a year earlier.


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## NateBishop3 (Jul 22, 2003)

I would love to see a healthy Miles on this team... four years ago. When he was at 100% and he was cutting to the hoop, taking it to the rim, and running the floor, he was really effective for us. I think todays Blazers could still really benefit from someone like that, but I just don't think it's worth the risk. This team lacks a slasher though. Roy can get to the rim, but he's more finesse. Outlaw has the potential to be a really effective slasher, but he doesn't go to the hole very often. He tends to shoot jumpers more than he slashes. a 6-9 or 6-10 small forward who can go to the hoop and score in the paint would be very nice for this team, but I'm scared of tampering with the chemistry. 

Plus, I know Darius Miles pretty well and he doesn't have the same attitude that the team has. He doesn't fit into our "culture" and unfortunately it's time for Darius to go. I really like the guy, but he doesn't fit here anymore.


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## Talkhard (May 13, 2003)

I would trade Miles for a bag of Fritos.
I would cut him and watch him walk away for nothing.
I would take back almost anyone for him.

But under no circumstances would I let him play a minute with this team.


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## blazermaniaisback (Jun 7, 2007)

Talkhard said:


> I would trade Miles for a bag of Fritos.



How about one of those corn dogs they sell at the game? Those are darn good and addicting...


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## STOMP (Jan 1, 2003)

NateBishop3 said:


> I was here.


I meant in our chat group. I'm guessing you weren't as there were many discussions that season whether the club would/should resign him.



> That was my first year covering the team. Miles was a fan favorite. That was back when he was still slashing to the hoop and attacking the rim. Of course those days are long gone.


hopefully he regains some of that as he's not big enough to bang and his jumper has never been his calling card. We'll see soon enough if thats just wishful thinking, but if so he'll probably be planted at the end of the bench until 2010.

STOMP


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## GOD (Jun 22, 2003)

Well I would like to see him get a shot. He was playing pretty darn well before his knee started to go, and then he had to play on a shot knee and made it 10 times worse and his play was greatly affected. 

IF he could be traded, I would be fine by that, but *I think it's sleazy for Blazers to keep telling everyone that he is injured and that it's up to Miles, but telling Miles that he's not ready when he says he is. * The Blazers should either play him, cut him, or if possible, trade him. I don't see a trade being possible, so play him or cut him. It's the old '**** or get off the pot' situation.


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## alext42083 (Nov 7, 2003)

NateBishop3 said:


> We all wanted to re-sign DMiles and anyone who says otherwise is probably lying. He had a really good year for us going into free agency and we really wanted to re-sign him. He and Zach were a huge part of our future. There really wasn't any way to predict what became of this once promising young player.


I wouldn't say everyone wanted to resign Miles to a long contract. At least for me, I wasn't so sure that Darius could be the cornerstone of a championship team then. He could be a good player on a subpar team, but not an elite go-to guy.
I hate to say it four years later, or after the fact, but there was reason he was not wanted with two other teams. It was a good risk just giving up McInnis for him, but oh well, history's history.


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

I thought it was critical to re-sign Darius. Then he paid us all back with lazy, uninspired play. The injuries I can forgive but his attitude and on court lack of hustle is unforgiveable. I do not want Darius to ever step on the floor as a Portland Trail Blazer again.


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## MrJayremmie (Dec 29, 2007)

Miles, LaFrentz and Kaponen are 3 people i don't ever see playing for us again.

Green, McRoberts, and Freeland i think will be on our Injury reserve or D-League, but won't play for our team. That is 6 people we could do away with, and give us money to re-sign our core of players.. our 11 deep team that we need.

Blake (needs to be re-signed) Sergio, Jack (needs to be re-signed) Roy, Webster, Outlaw, Jones(needs to be re-signed) Aldridge, Frye, Oden, Pryzbilla, Fernandez. I guess that is our 12 deep team, i would love to have every one of them locked up for 3+ years, and let us grow together and know they will all be in portland and playing together for a long time.

Those 12 players have championship written all over them. Blake and Pryzbilla are 27, but other then them, all the other 10 people are 24 or under... it is insane. We need to keep this core intact, but also need to make sure we get rid of the players we don't need to keep cap space and chemistry.

Even though Jack, Sergio, and Jones might not get the most playing time in a couple years, i hope they can be team players and realize they can still REALLY help this team get to a championship. They are a big part and really hope to see them all back in portland. Everyone will play a good amount, that is what Nate likes to do.. i'm very excited to see these players. If we can re-sign them all, with Rudy and Oden comin' in next year, i' pretty sure we will have 50+ wins.


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## BBert (Dec 30, 2004)

I was in favor of signing Miles back then, but I was not in favor of giving him a contract clearly above the market rate. Same with Theo. Those contracts followed the pre-cap, pre-tax Trader Bob model (which, with some fair officiating, would have won us a championship). Rumor has it those contracts were Paul Allen decisions, and Paul Allen finally learned his lesson from them, it appears. Miles even said it was way more money than he was asking for. You can't blame a guy for taking the money that was offered. I would.

I have yet to hear a coherent, factual reason why some people think Miles is such a bad guy, or a team cancer. So he yelled at Cheeks. Big deal. He's not the only player to ever argue with a coach. Other than the "N" word (which as I understand it is pretty commonly used in his neighborhood), apparantly the things he was yelling at Cheeks were no worse than the things I and many other fans were saying about him. I notice no one on the team disagreed with him. And as I recall, Cheeks had problems with nearly every player on the team at one point or another.

To say Miles got his contract then decided to be lazy is not what I observed. He started his last season awesome. "The Punisher" was the best player on the team. Then he injured his knee, and played on it until he couldn't any more. Then he clearly came back too soon from the injury, at the insistence of the coach. Now it's taken him two seasons to recover from that surgery. I would challenge anyone here to go through the same injury; the same surgery; then go through the painful rehab and still tell me the guy is lazy or just looking for a paycheck. He gets paid no matter what he does, but he's busting his chops to play basketball again, on this team. His should be in inspirational story, but instead he gets booed. I'm really at a loss.


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## chris_in_pdx (Jul 11, 2004)

BBert: get ready to be lambasted and ridiculed for your statements regarding Darius Miles. To a lot of the posters on here, he's the Anti-Christ. A spoiled, lazy, irredeemable black millionaire who just lives to drive his bling-ed out car, yell the N word at anyone in sight, and probably torture baby kittens and squirrels for fun.

The truth of the matter is, Miles lives in a culture that few on this message board can relate to, so it's easy to bash. They see what they want to see, and defend that image to their last breath.

It's also the truth that, if Darius gets back on the court and drops 25/8/6 over a relatively short stretch of games, those same bashers will suddenly declare him the "missing piece" of a Blazer Championship run, and all will be "forgiven", that is, until Darius (or Roy, or LaMarcus, or Oden) "screws up" in the eyes of the fans... should I bring up the "Oden At The Strip Club" thread? What a crock of BS.

"Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged". I'm not a religious man at all, but there's a lot of truth in that.


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## ProudBFan (Apr 29, 2003)

BBert said:


> To say Miles got his contract then decided to be lazy is not what I observed.


Me either. He didn't get "lazy", he got big-headed. We discussed his numbers pre-resign and post-resign here in another thread not too long ago, and found that his numbers actually increased after he got his new contract.

But I can't get the image of him cursing Nate and donning civvies during that game out of my head. And I readily admit it's my problem, not his. To me, it came to symbolize all that is wrong with the NBA (not that the NBA is all wrong, 'cause it's not).

For me, it's simple. Dude got his new contract, let it go to his head, and did some reprehensible things as a result.

I find it hard to believe Nate would willingly welcome Miles back into the rotation, but maybe he and Miles have said their piece and put it behind them. Still, Miles has to show me something (and I'm not talking about numbers here) before I'll be convinced that adding him back into the rotation would be good for the team as a whole.

PBF


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## Resume (Jul 17, 2007)

This is going to be crazy seeing him play again!!!
I wish him the best and hope he plays well... but if he starts to mess with our chemistry, I'm going to get mad!!!


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## BBert (Dec 30, 2004)

ProudBFan said:


> But I can't get the image of him cursing Nate and donning civvies during that game out of my head.
> PBF


Ahh, I forgot about the 'getting dressed during the game' incident. :biggrin: Kind of reminds me of when Scotty Pippen refused to enter the game for the final play because the coach called the play for Tony Kucoc. That's the kind of thing that's hard to live down. I certainly hope that IF Miles ever plays again, he's not that guy anymore. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until he screws up (again).

:cheers:


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## yuyuza1 (May 24, 2006)

Nate has already mentioned that Darius has to beat out the other players in practice to get PT. With Martell, James, and Travis doing very well, I don't foresee Miles getting significant PT anytime soon.


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## BBert (Dec 30, 2004)

Resume said:


> This is going to be crazy seeing him play again!!!
> I wish him the best and hope he plays well... but if he starts to mess with our chemistry, I'm going to get mad!!!


Yep. Don't get me wrong. I'd love to see The Punisher again (although it's not very likely). But I have a VERY low tolerance for messing up our team chemistry. I'm just not convinced he can. I also bet if he comes back half way decent, he, and his contract, get traded anyway.


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## ProudBFan (Apr 29, 2003)

BBert said:


> Ahh, I forgot about the 'getting dressed during the game' incident. :biggrin: Kind of reminds me of when Scotty Pippen refused to enter the game for the final play because the coach called the play for Tony Kucoc. That's the kind of thing that's hard to live down. I certainly hope that IF Miles ever plays again, he's not that guy anymore. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until he screws up (again).
> 
> :cheers:


You're a good person, BBert.

PBF


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

Please. Miles was a lazy piece of crap. I got NBA Ticket, watched probably 70% of the games for the last 4-5 years. The effort I saw from Miles after he got into his tiff with Cheeks was nothing short of disgraceful and I was calling to cut him then. He would walk the offense, stand around with his hands down and just launch a shot


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## PapaG (Oct 4, 2004)

At this point the only way out appears to play Miles 48 minutes/per starting tomorrow night until he finally breaks down. Then he gets his retirement and the Blazers get to move on.

Seriously though, this is a big kink. Can the team refuse to play him, let him whine until he cracks, and then suspend him for the rest of the season with pay?


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## BBert (Dec 30, 2004)

PapaG said:


> At this point the only way out appears to play Miles 48 minutes/per starting tomorrow night until he finally breaks down. Then he gets his retirement and the Blazers get to move on.
> 
> Seriously though, this is a big kink. Can the team refuse to play him, let him whine until he cracks, and then suspend him for the rest of the season with pay?


I think your first idea is more realistic. :biggrin: 

From the little sound bite we got today, it appears Miles thinks he can do more than his trainers think he can, and he wants to progress faster than his trainers want him to. So does Greg Oden, no doubt. That kind of drive is a good thing, IMO. If they let him go in practice the way he wants, there's a decent chance he might break down before he ever gets a chance to enter a game.

I doubt he's anywhere close to playing in a basketball game.


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## MrJayremmie (Dec 29, 2007)

Of course the team can and will refuse to play him. we are loaded at the SF position, and next year will be even more loaded. I doubt Miles wil ever play for portland ever again.

Roy | Blake | Sergio
Fernandez | Jack | Roy
Webster | Outlaw | Jones
Aldridge | Frye | Outlaw
Oden | Pryzbilla

is the lineup of the future. No more, no less. As long as we re-sign all of our players, stay VERY deep.. i say we don't draft anyone, don't sign anyone via FA, and don't trade for anyone. The team i listed is a championship team when healthy within 2-3 years. Maybe next year if Oden and Fernandez are all they are hyped up to be and barring injuries.


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## meru (Jul 2, 2003)

I think the Miles for Malik Rose straight up trade is probably the best deal, mainly because Malik Rose is supposed to be a good guy, smart, and spent all those years in SA, so Kevin Pritchard probably knows what he's like. (Plus, if he played at all, he plays about the only position we've got minutes for, backup 4.)

But here are a couple of other suggestions:

I think the only two teams that MIGHT trade for Miles are NY and Miami (hey, if they'll trade for Ricky Davis...). With that in mind:

1. Miles and Raef for Stephon Marbury and Renaldo Balkman
Now DON'T PANIC: I envisage Marbury going the way of Steve Francis, and I would never even suggest such a thing if I thought he would even get his name on a Portland jersey. For those who wonder about Balkman (who has perpetually bloodshot eyes...) you can switch in Wilson Chandler ("the brother from DePaul", to quote Spike Lee) or nobody and the trade still works. With nobody, the Blazers save a year of Miles, and a bit more. I like Balkman's energy (odd, given the eyes) but SF is pretty crowded.

2. Miles straight up for Mark Blount
I can't remember much about Blount, and I might be confusing him with Corey, but can't he rebound a little? Didn't he have some good games alongside KG last year?

Otherwise it might even be worth waiving Miles, as he just doesn't seem to fit any more, even if his knees are comparatively healthy.


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## andalusian (Jun 29, 2006)

meru said:


> 2. Miles straight up for Mark Blount
> I can't remember much about Blount, and I might be confusing him with Corey, but can't he rebound a little? Didn't he have some good games alongside KG last year?


Isn't he a center? With Mourning done and Shaq not retiring despite the fact that he plays worse than David Robinson (didn't he once said that when he was only as good as Robinson he would retire?) - I do not see Miami letting go of anyone that might be able to step on the court in the Center position.


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## drexlersdad (Jun 3, 2006)

yuyuza1 said:


> Nate has already mentioned that Darius has to beat out the other players in practice to get PT. With Martell, James, and Travis doing very well, I don't foresee Miles getting significant PT anytime soon.



That is exactly right. If he earns playing time in practice, the other players will respect him for it. and if he performs well in games, the fans will respect him for it.


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## drexlersdad (Jun 3, 2006)

i think the miles/raef for marbury deal would be close, but we would probably have to throw in a first or two or a player or two. like the Seattle and Phoenix Kurt Thomas deal.

I mean we are basically asking them to eat 18 million dollars after luxury tax.

Maybe if we add:
Jack 
or
Webster 
or
Outlaw

Besides that there is really no incentive for the Knicks to make this trade, other than pure lunacy.


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## Draco (Jun 28, 2003)

drexlersdad said:


> That is exactly right. If he earns playing time in practice, the other players will respect him for it. and if he performs well in games, the fans will respect him for it.


My thoughts exactly. Let him practice and be the 12th man on the team. There is no reason for the Blazers to cut him, if they do they lose out on the possibility of dumping his contract. I'm sure the Blazers would do a trade like the Marbury or Malik Rose deals, those deals just aren't on the table right now.

I think this season the steps for Miles is just to return to form in practice and to be able to get some garbage minutes or wait until we have a couple injuries and get a little PT there. Then next season he can focus on his game, starting in the summer all the way throughout training camp, that is if he really wants to become a contributor to this team. If not, then just let him rot on the end of the bench.




drexlersdad said:


> i think the miles/raef for marbury deal would be close, but we would probably have to throw in a first or two or a player or two. like the Seattle and Phoenix Kurt Thomas deal.


I would adamantly be against us giving away draft picks just to dump Miles. Getting out of one year of his contract is not worth that much. We should be on the other end of those deals, taking on contracts for free draft picks.


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## OntheRocks (Jun 15, 2005)

andalusian said:


> The best thing that could happen is that Miami gets hot and is in playoffs contention and Riley is willing to pull the trigger on Miles for an expiring. I have very little hope that this will happen.
> 
> Probably best to "keep him away" and "not rush him" and hope he can be packaged or cut in the off-season.


Miami get hot? Miami is going to have one of the worst records in the east this year... what you smoking?


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## gambitnut (Jan 4, 2003)

Draco said:


> My thoughts exactly. Let him practice and be the 12th man on the team. There is no reason for the Blazers to cut him, if they do they lose out on the possibility of dumping his contract. I'm sure the Blazers would do a trade like the Marbury or Malik Rose deals, those deals just aren't on the table right now.
> 
> I think this season the steps for Miles is just to return to form in practice and to be able to get some garbage minutes or wait until we have a couple injuries and get a little PT there. Then next season he can focus on his game, starting in the summer all the way throughout training camp, that is if he really wants to become a contributor to this team. If not, then just let him rot on the end of the bench.
> 
> ...


I'd be against giving away any of the players in our current rotation, but not draft picks. I'd rather bring Rudy and Koponen over before another draft pick, and we'll only have so many free roster spots next season anyway. If a draft pick or two is all it costs to free up a roster spot or two and give us some salary cap flexibility in the future, I say go for it.


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## darkhelmit54 (Jan 23, 2005)

meru said:


> I think the Miles for Malik Rose straight up trade is probably the best deal, mainly because Malik Rose is supposed to be a good guy, smart, and spent all those years in SA, so Kevin Pritchard probably knows what he's like. (Plus, if he played at all, he plays about the only position we've got minutes for, backup 4.)


Yeah I agree for us definetely, and I see Isaiah wanting to make some desperate move, but for them it'd just be a very risky 8 million dollar gamble. I think they'd need to take some value back to make it worth it, and I think that could come in the form of Jack. I don't see us renewing him this summer and he'll be a free agent (or tiny player option) who wants more than 2 million right? He might not mind a trade (per O-live forum insider, i'm a little skeptical). We could take back Jones (who's expiring) who can D up better than Jack, is more athletic, and could probably help with our playoff run now more than Jack. I think that deal is better for NY value wise and better for us role wise. Plus it helps with the whole Rudy coming over thing and drama with playing time next year.


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

Things are going well, you dont need him back. If you cant trade him, someone needs to kick him in the knee and send him back to the IR.


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## darkhelmit54 (Jan 23, 2005)

With the way the salary cap is set up a deal of Darius - Raef for Marbury - Rose actually saves money for both teams, we worked this out when all the starbury rumors hit. We have our cap relief earlier, they save a little and get out from Marbury while gambling on Darius. I think we'd have to throw in Jack, but i'd be fine with that.


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## It's_GO_Time (Oct 13, 2005)

I think right now . . . Darius is on the second team of the white team. :sad:


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## STOMP (Jan 1, 2003)

But what if he plays well? Many here emphatically stated that he'd never get to this point. 

I'm with Nate, BBert, and drexlersdad (& others) wishing him the best... after all him doing well is the one sure way to get some value from the 9M per through 2010 Nash signed him to.



R-Star said:


> someone needs to kick him in the knee and send him back to the IR


Hi Tanya :wave: Hows rehab going?

STOMP


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## KingSpeed (Oct 30, 2003)

MrJayremmie said:


> Of course the team can and will refuse to play him. we are loaded at the SF position, and next year will be even more loaded. I doubt Miles wil ever play for portland ever again.
> 
> Roy | Blake | Sergio
> Fernandez | Jack | Roy
> ...


Amen


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## PorterIn2004 (Jan 1, 2003)

I don't think the team _is_ all that loaded at SF. Webster's coming along and Jones is great, but also is still fighting an injury. Outlaw, for now, seems _much_ better as a PF than as a SF. Also, Miles, _if_ he can really return to form _and_ fit in with the culture, can bring a dimensions to at least the SF spot and probably even the PF spot that the team otherwise doesn't have -- slashing, ball-handling, and good (when he's bothering to try) defense all in one package.

As for playing him at PF, Aldridge and Frye have both been somewhat dinged up and both end up spending time at center. From a talent stand point, I'd absolutely play Miles ahead of LaFrentz (again, _if_ he's returning to form and _if_ he's not damaging the culture -- and remember, he's already been spending a lot of time around the team).

All that said, I'm _huuuugely_ skeptical about this return. His behavior under Cheeks varied from unremarkable to truly awful. And, all the reports from the last year or so suggests that he's been maturing. And as for lazy? Sure he's coasted in games before, but a lazy person doesn't recover as much as he already has from this surgery and if he's coasting _at all_ McMillan will yank him -- I predict he'll have a shorter leash than Rodriguez if it comes to effort (though I could see letting him play through some rust).

Finally, _if_ the Blazers are going ever get anything in trade for him, it _has_ to be proven that he can play -- thus, I expect McMillan will at _least_ roll him out there for some garbage time minutes and, if he does well enough in practice and in garbage time, look to seriously use him during some meaningful time. Why the heck not?! If he's a problem, he's done. If he's not and adds something, he's got value (whether for this team or via trade). I predict we'll see him get time either on this coming road trip (when depth might be in unusually short supply for this team) or fairly soon thereafter.


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