Miles Tryout in Boston .....

[Walton'sBeard!]

Meh, I'm beginning to care less and less about the 2009 cap space for many reasons. Let's say that Granger is the best guy available, we would have to overpay to get him to sign an offer sheet, then hope that Indy doesn't match. And what if we do land him? Then we would probably have to let Outlaw or Webster walk away because there wouldn't be room on our team for all 3 SF's.

I really believe that if we want to upgrade the SF position trading Lafrenz + Outlaw or Webster is the best way to do it. As far as Miles is concerned, I'm just thrilled he is no longer a Blazer.

[SabasRevenge!]

Meh, I'm beginning to care less and less about the 2009 cap space for many reasons. Let's say that Granger is the best guy available, we would have to overpay to get him to sign an offer sheet, then hope that Indy doesn't match. And what if we do land him? Then we would probably have to let Outlaw or Webster walk away because there wouldn't be room on our team for all 3 SF's.

I really believe that if we want to upgrade the SF position trading Lafrenz + Outlaw or Webster is the best way to do it. As far as Miles is concerned, I'm just thrilled he is no longer a Blazer.

I agree. Cap space for signing a max fa in '09 seems pretty unimportant right now. I'd be very happy even if we end up with 5-8 mil in cap space to give us quite a bit of trade flexibility. After the draft I'm very happy with how our roster is looking. I believe the Outlaw/Webster/Batum combo at SF is a great starting point for us and I wouldn't be surprised if one of those three ends up being an excellent long-term solution. IMO the chances of us outright signing someone to a huge contract next summer is slim to none. The guys we want would all be matched unless some of this year's RFA's sign QOs.

EX.
POR sends TEAM B player(s) with a total of 7 mil in salary
TEAM B sends POR one player under contract or extended at 13 mil.
POR doesn't need to match the remaining 6 mil in salary because they are roughly that amount under the cap.
TEAM B gets a TE for 6 mil that is good for one year - a free asset.

[mojomarc]

I agree. Cap space for signing a max fa in '09 seems pretty unimportant right now. I'd be very happy even if we end up with 5-8 mil in cap space to give us quite a bit of trade flexibility. After the draft I'm very happy with how our roster is looking. I believe the Outlaw/Webster/Batum combo at SF is a great starting point for us and I wouldn't be surprised if one of those three ends up being an excellent long-term solution. IMO the chances of us outright signing someone to a huge contract next summer is slim to none. The guys we want would all be matched unless some of this year's RFA's sign QOs.

EX.
POR sends TEAM B player(s) with a total of 7 mil in salary
TEAM B sends POR one player under contract or extended at 13 mil.
POR doesn't need to match the remaining 6 mil in salary because they are roughly that amount under the cap.
TEAM B gets a TE for 6 mil that is good for one year - a free asset.

That's a good point, but still more cap space is still better.

EX.
POR sends TEAM B player(s) with a total of 7 mil in salary
TEAM B agrees to send POR one player under contract or extended at 13 mil as long as POR is willing to take on a second player with a particularly heinous contract of $10m.

With only $6m under the cap, you don't have the flexibility to actually get the player you want in this scenario, while $16m under you do.

So while I agree that anywhere more than the MLE under the cap isn't a bad thing, the more room you have the more maneuverability you have.

[bruno sundov]

I don't want Miles on the celtics. 2 years ago they worked J williams, the motorcycle j williams. DA said he was impressive. Never even entertained bringing him in that year. So the word impressive is thrown around a lot.

[JD45]

Meh, I'm beginning to care less and less about the 2009 cap space for many reasons. Let's say that Granger is the best guy available, we would have to overpay to get him to sign an offer sheet, then hope that Indy doesn't match. And what if we do land him? Then we would probably have to let Outlaw or Webster walk away because there wouldn't be room on our team for all 3 SF's.

Paul Allen is paying, not us. The team's payroll does not affect us in any way. So as long as Allen is giving the Blazers an unlimited budget, all I care about is getting the best team. "Overpaying" is not important to fans in this situation.

[JD45]

It looks like Miles is also trying out for Phoenix. So he is really trying to make a team.

Phoenix has also inquired about Portland forward Darius Miles. Miles missed all of the last two seasons with a right knee injury that required microfracture surgery an independent doctor ruled as career-ending. He is still owed more than $27 million by the Blazers, although it doesn’t count against their salary cap unless he returns to the NBA and plays at least 10 games in either of the next two seasons.

The Boston Globe reported Miles, 26, had an “impressive” workout with the Celtics last week. Any team that signs Miles would be without him for the first 10 games as he serves a suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug policy.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/120248

[d-train]

I wouldn't read too much into Miles getting workouts and Ainge saying Miles looked impressive. Ainge would be a real douche bag if he said Miles looked terrible and it would be good business for Ainge to say Miles looks good. Don't forget Miles has an agent who has other clients besides Miles.

Also, Blazers fans don't need to wish Miles unwell. If Miles is able to squeeze something out of his basketball career, that doesn't necessarily affect the Blazers salary cap space. Even if Miles is able to play more than 10 games, it doesn't mean the salary cap space from his contract is lost. It only means the Blazers have to have the league reevaluate Miles' knee to determine if his knee is recovered. Miles doesn't have to be "unfit to play" in order to have sustained a career ending injury. The Blazers were granted salary cap relief because the doctors say Miles' knee is permanently damaged enough to substantially diminish his basketball ability and the damage can't be repaired by rehabilitation. Miles may be able to play 82 games this season and the Blazers will still get there salary cap relief. The issue is the condition of Miles' knee and playing 10 games or 82 games does not prove the damage the leagues doctors verified is healed.

I wish Miles well in his comeback attempt. I don't care about Miles but I do enjoy seeing his detractors proven wrong as they so often are. Unfortunately, I am skeptical about Miles' health and his overall ability before his health troubles. I don't believe Miles was ever much more than an average starter and his injury has diminished his ability and taken him away from the game, which has undoubtedly eroded his conditioning, timing, and skill levels. Grant Hill was a top 3 NBA player before the injuries and rust reduced him to what he is today. That works for Hill but Miles can't afford to lose that much and still be an NBA player.

[GOBlazers]

Can anyone else confirm this? That it's probable to keep Miles off the salary cap, even if he plays more than 10 games in either of the next two seasons? My understanding has always been that if he plays 10 or more, we get screwed.

Why would there be a rule about playing 10 games, if it didn't matter?

[bruno sundov]

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop?tag ... %20celtics


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