RealGM

...chances to sign-on elsewhere?

If true, that's low... I mean to what lengths will Portland go to prevent him from joining another team? Are they that hell bent on not taking on the remainder of his salary? Damn.

Adding insult to injury?: While the Celtics have been praising Darius Miles, two NBA general managers said the Blazers have been bad-mouthing the free agent forward to potential suitors. Miles was hampered by injuries and off-the-court problems during his five seasons in Portland and was waived April 14. But if he plays in 10 games over the next two seasons, the Blazers will be on the hook for $18 million in salary. Miles was cut by the Celtics last week in his bid to return after missing two seasons but he is getting inquiries from other teams. "He can still play and he also hasn't played in two years, so you have to understand that he will get better," one NBA GM said. "Too bad Portland is putting out bad information that he is not a good kid. Anything and everything they can say bad they are. It's too bad. He's a nice kid with a bad injury who has fought back. Right now, he's still an NBA player and he's going to get better. He's going to improve. It will be a smart pick-up for someone." The Blazers declined comment on the accusation. When asked about Miles being waived by the Celtics, Blazers coach Nate McMillan said, "That situation, it's behind us. What he was doing in Boston, that's behind us. He's no longer with us."

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball ... ap/?page=2

It is obvious he should play somewhere, and hopefully someone gives him a chance. Too bad we have the fat redhead on our team, because he would be here if we didn't.

I'm surprised some Western team just wouldn't take him just to screw the Blazers. I really have no problem with the Blazers bad mouthing him either.

Stern and/or the Player's Union should investigate this situation.

Remember this...

In a story posted April 14 on the Portland Tribune’s Web site, Pritchard said, “The doctors had actually said, ‘If you were my son, I’d never have you pick up a basketball again.’ I’m the kind of GM (that) I wouldn’t want that on my head that he ever had to have knee replacement.”

The problem for Pritchard and the Blazers is that those statements could be a violation of the privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Availability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Since the HIPAA privacy rule went into effect on April 14, 2003, pro and college teams in all sports have been very reluctant to reveal specific details of player injuries without the permission of the player.

Most teams have come to the point where they will reveal only whether a player may sit out a game, but not give any specific details of the injuries. HIPAA’s privacy rule prohibits “covered entities” — often interpreted as employers who provide health care or health-care clinics for employees, which teams do for their players – from revealing health information about those employees without their consent.

“It’s very clear,” one NBA official said. “Without the consent of a player, about all you can say is he is probable to play or not probable to play in a given game. They call our doctors in, sit us down at the start of the season and make these rules very clear to us. If the player wants to make his condition public, that’s fine. But he has to give consent.”

“It would seem that they may have exceeded their authority, but I would think that they may have had authorization, from Miles or his agent, to talk about his condition,” French said. “I’d be shocked if they aren’t hanging their hat on some form of authorization.”

Miles’ agent, Jeffrey Wechsler, refused comment. It is believed nothing will come of this if Miles lands a job with another NBA team. And it’s likely he will, given that teams will need to pay him only the minimum salary and, in spite of the local perception of his character, many of his former teammates and coaches believe him to be relatively harmless to team harmony.

However, if he does not sign with another team, there is an expectation that Miles could file a grievance with the league and also file a suit against the Blazers for attempting to restrict the player’s ability to find a job.

http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/s ... 3261551200

Yeah, the Blazers FO are acting like A-holes. Miles was a model citizen while here, he dropped all of that weight (with a little help from diet pills), and is trying to come back from a big injury. The problems I saw with him were not really conditioning or health related, but instead his basketball skills seems a little rusty, like someone who hasn't played ball in a couple of years.

If true, Portland's actions are reprehensible. First, they move to classify his injury as "career-ending" so they can be relieved of a burden they entered into freely. Then, when the "career-ending" classification proves incorrect, they move to impugn his character, all in the name of the almighty bottom line.

Portland should be punished for leaking his medical information and for bad-mouthing him to potential employers. What they did is wrong and it will catch up to them either via the league office or via karma. I'm hoping for the latter.

Quit the whining.
1)It was a neutral doctor appointed by the LEAGUE AND PLAYERS UNION who declared Miles injury career ending not a Blazers doctor
2)Miles behaved himself well for his first several months in Portland as well,then came the strip club fights,being caught with marijuana,late and missed practices,arguing with the coach.If Boston called and asked any teams front office about these sorts of actions would you not want them to tell you the truth about the player?Or would you want the other FO to give nothing but glowing reports and let you sign a troublemaker to a million dollar contract?

Now, these tidbits are interesting...

The Portland Trail Blazers have a tremendous roster of young, talented pieces. They could end up with cap room in 2009 or 2010, depending on what they do with players like guard Steve Blake (non-guaranteed in 2009), forward Travis Outlaw (team option for 2009-10), guard/forward Martell Webster and forward/center Channing Frye (2009 RFA's). The Blazers also have to evaluate incoming forward Ike Diogu, also a 2009 RFA. Additionally center Joel Pryzbilla can opt out in 2010.

Where the Blazers run into trouble is keeping both Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge who are restricted in 2010. Portland may be better off spending in 2009 when both Roy and Aldridge are still on their rookie contracts.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9820

The Portland Seven

The Blazers head into the next summer with the potential to have major cap space, with seven players hitting the free-agent market. But there's a catch.

First, Darius Miles, with Boston this preseason, could mess up Portland's plan. If he plays in 10 games this season, his $9 million salary goes right back on the Blazers' books.

Second, they are going to have to make some difficult choices about a number of their young players. Martell Webster, Channing Frye, Ike Diogu, Sergio Rodriguez and Travis Outlaw can all become free agents, along with veterans Steve Blake and Raef LaFrentz.

Because of NBA collective bargaining rules, each player is assigned a "cap hold" that serves as a salary placeholder for the summer. Because Webster, Frye and Diogu were all drafted in the lottery, their cap holds are very high -- likely higher than their actual salaries will be in their new contracts. The only way for Portland to get rid of those cap hold numbers is to sign those players to contracts during the free agent period or to not make qualifying offers to them.

If Portland chooses to sign them, not only will those players eat into the cap space, but the team, while working out the new contracts, will lose precious time during the early days of July's free-agent frenzy. If the Blazers choose not to make qualifying offers, those players become unrestricted free agents.

So I expect GM Kevin Pritchard to be very proactive (as always) this winter and to move at least a couple of those young players.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/s ... alk-081015

canman1971 wrote:It is obvious he should play somewhere, and hopefully someone gives him a chance. Too bad we have the fat redhead on our team, because he would be here if we didn't.

OFT

Brandon-Clyde wrote:Quit the whining.

Perhaps, you're missing the point: This isn't about Miles' relation to Boston but the rumored underhanded behavior of the Portland organization to prevent Miles from signing with a new team. Since Portland will never admit to this, if the report is true, it's simply speculative talk.

Whining?

Like a poster eluded to... Bad karma can be a bitch.

bonsaiflipflops wrote:

Brandon-Clyde wrote:Quit the whining.

Perhaps, you're missing the point: This isn't about Miles' relation to Boston but the rumored underhanded behavior of the Portland organization to prevent Miles from signing with a new team. Since Portland will never admit to this, if the report is true, it's simply speculative talk.

Whining?

Like a poster eluded to... Bad karma can be a bitch.

What underhanded behaviour?Miles still gets ALL of his money,it was a NEUTRAL doctor appointed by the NBA AND PLAYERS UNION that declared Miles injury career ending(the doctor says Miles risks needing a total knee replacement and CRIPPLING injury by playing) and when asked by other teams front offices what sort of person Miles was tell the truth about how he behaved in Portland(should they lie and say he was a model citizen here causing the other team to take on a bad character guy?)All the accusations vs Portlands FO assume Portland is either actively calling the other teams FO(no evidence of this) or responding with lies when called(considering Miles behaviour in Portland lying is not neccesary).Yes Miles behaved well in Boston but just a few months back before signing with Boston(actually just before the NFL draft)this now good guy and family man held a massive party at a strip club in Portland where he had several University of Oregon players up on stage.No not illegal but it does suggest that Miles is not so far from his wild days.
One last note Miles was a big reason that a few seasons back Portlands team was known nationally as the Jailblazers so maybe it is karma coming back to bite Miles

I'm glad to see that some here are at least starting their posts with the phrase "if true". Nothing like "anonymous sources" to trash somebody's reputation.

BC has pointed out that it was an independent orthopedic surgeon that declared Miles as having suffered a career-ending injury. It's also worth noting that Miles's contract with portland was an insured, guaranteed contract. That meant that the team doctors for portland had to clear him fit to medically return to action. They made it plain they weren't going to do that, so the process that portland applied for was about their only option. And the opinion of the independent orthopedic surgeon was was not a close call. it was unambiguous. But then, a doctor is compelled to look out for the best interests of the health & future of the patient, and that may not include a continuing career as a basketball player. Just because Miles played sporadically in a few preseason games does not mean that the medical conclusion was incorrect.

Finally, about the "bad-mouthing", it's worth pointing out that the LA Clippers were very anxious to get rid of Miles after 2 seasons so they traded him to Cleveland. After 1 1/2 seasons, the cavs were eager to dump Miles so they traded him to portland. After a couple of seasons in Portland...they wanted to dump Miles. These are not conincidences.

This goofy "miles is misunderstood" narrative doesn't withstand scrutiny. Teams that have had Miles can certainly comment on what he had been, and the fact is, he's been anything but a model citizen. Maybe he has 'changed', but assuming the new incarnation of Miles is genuine is in the realm of 'fool me twice...times 2...shame on me"

Wizenheimer wrote:I'm glad to see that some here are at least starting their posts with the phrase "if true". Nothing like "anonymous sources" to trash somebody's reputation.

Well the report claims 2 GMs, so i assume the Globe writer talked to those GMs. The GMs could be misleading the reporter but...

bonsaiflipflops wrote:...chances to sign-on elsewhere?

If true, that's low... I mean to what lengths will Portland go to prevent him from joining another team? Are they that hell bent on not taking on the remainder of his salary? Damn.

Adding insult to injury?: While the Celtics have been praising Darius Miles, two NBA general managers said the Blazers have been bad-mouthing the free agent forward to potential suitors. Miles was hampered by injuries and off-the-court problems during his five seasons in Portland and was waived April 14. But if he plays in 10 games over the next two seasons, the Blazers will be on the hook for $18 million in salary. Miles was cut by the Celtics last week in his bid to return after missing two seasons but he is getting inquiries from other teams. "He can still play and he also hasn't played in two years, so you have to understand that he will get better," one NBA GM said. "Too bad Portland is putting out bad information that he is not a good kid. Anything and everything they can say bad they are. It's too bad. He's a nice kid with a bad injury who has fought back. Right now, he's still an NBA player and he's going to get better. He's going to improve. It will be a smart pick-up for someone." The Blazers declined comment on the accusation. When asked about Miles being waived by the Celtics, Blazers coach Nate McMillan said, "That situation, it's behind us. What he was doing in Boston, that's behind us. He's no longer with us."

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball ... ap/?page=2

First of all you are going by one stupid ass article. When Miles was in Portland, he was embraced by the team and the fans. Then he started getting in trouble, smoking weed and calling your coach a "N*gger to his face" yeah bro, thats real classy. If that is a model citizen to you, I would hate to see what a criminal is. He was with your organization for what, a couple of months, try him for 3 or 4 years and then get back to me. Its so funny to see some (not all) Boston fans talk about things they know nothing about. I witnessed first hand the whole "Jailblazer" era and Miles was a big part of that. Its funny people dog the Blazers for being a bunch of thugs calling us the "Jailblazers" but when we turn things around getting rid of thugs like Miles we get called "reprehensible" and A**holes. Yeah, poor Darius.....gimme a break Boston fans. By the way Brandon Roy is "a good kid" not Darius Miles.

Miles still gets ALL of his money

Miles is a 27 year old, he'll only get the money that is left on the contract and maybe some insurance money.

Are you saying that this would have been his last contract?

Before the injury, Daruis atheletically could have been playing well into his 30's.

If I was still 27 and ! was told I could not do something that I loved ( not mentioning something that I could earn money at ) I think I would keep trying until age told me I could play anymore.

You really dont know how much you love doing something, until its taken away from you.

I'm hoping this is the case in Darius case and not just his way to get back at the Blazers.

Wizenheimer wrote:I'm glad to see that some here are at least starting their posts with the phrase "if true". Nothing like "anonymous sources" to trash somebody's reputation.

BC has pointed out that it was an independent orthopedic surgeon that declared Miles as having suffered a career-ending injury. It's also worth noting that Miles's contract with portland was an insured, guaranteed contract. That meant that the team doctors for portland had to clear him fit to medically return to action. They made it plain they weren't going to do that, so the process that portland applied for was about their only option. And the opinion of the independent orthopedic surgeon was was not a close call. it was unambiguous. But then, a doctor is compelled to look out for the best interests of the health & future of the patient, and that may not include a continuing career as a basketball player. Just because Miles played sporadically in a few preseason games does not mean that the medical conclusion was incorrect.

Doctors have a funny way of disagreeing with each other. I guarantee you there are hundreds of doctors who would take the same results and find no career ending injury. Medical science isn't black and white; there are several shades of grey. That's why they're called medical 'opinions.' Ultimately, just because one doctor terms an injury 'career-ending,' it doesn't mean that player's career is 'ended.' It's just one doctor's opinion. The true, and most relevant, opinion is the player's opinion. He knows his pain level and what he can do and what he's willing to sacrifice to have a chance at coming back. Doctor's don't measure that. They look at X-Rays and MRIs and make deductions. I know of football players born without ACLs; when doctors look at their MRIs they're shocked; several recommend those players quit the game. But you know what? Those players never knew what their MRIs said; they only knew what their bodies said; and they said they could play. And that's what they did (and btw, these medical freaks born without ACLs usually have overdeveloped muscle definition around their knees which act to stabilize the fundamentally unstable joint, thereby allowing them the run, jump and turn on a dime just like normal people). If the guy can come back, run up and down the court, and do it day in and day out, his career ain't ended, regardless of what any medical test might attest to; that player might have lost a step, or he might have to change his game, but his career ain't ended.

Wizenheimer wrote:Finally, about the "bad-mouthing", it's worth pointing out that the LA Clippers were very anxious to get rid of Miles after 2 seasons so they traded him to Cleveland. After 1 1/2 seasons, the cavs were eager to dump Miles so they traded him to portland. After a couple of seasons in Portland...they wanted to dump Miles. These are not conincidences.

This goofy "miles is misunderstood" narrative doesn't withstand scrutiny. Teams that have had Miles can certainly comment on what he had been, and the fact is, he's been anything but a model citizen. Maybe he has 'changed', but assuming the new incarnation of Miles is genuine is in the realm of 'fool me twice...times 2...shame on me"

It's true Miles has had problems on previous teams he's been on. That's not the point. Every NBA team knows the stories and they don't need Portland's input to figure it out. The real point, and truly reprehensible part, if true, is that Portland is allegedly giving other teams UNSOLICITED negative feedback about MIles. It's one thing to answer another team's queries about a player; it's another to use the occasion to say every possible negative thing you can about a guy, knowing that that kind of gossip will spread around the NBA like wild fire. And that's what Portland is doing: they're spreading unsolicited gossip.

See, Portland did this before too; they came out, UNSOLICITED, and announced that Miles have violated the league's drug policy. Nobody asked them, they volunteered that information in a not-too-subtle attempt to blackball Miles and to derail his comeback attempt. That's wrong and it violated MIles' privacy rights.

The thing is: this is so transparent. Everyone knows their true motive and all Portland is doing is undermining their reputation around the league, among players, coaches and league executives. And it will come back to haunt them.

The Blazers were a poorly managed team, with no sense of identity or any positive leaders. He's told the Boston media that the Celtics are the first team he's been on where they run 'actual plays' and he's felt he can just be a role player. I don't expect someone out of high school to thrive in the NBA if he doesn't have strong leadership and a structured system. The shitholes of teams he's been on like LAC, Cleveland - pre lebron, and the infamous Jailblazers didn't give him what he needed. He's just barely 27 years old and the Blazers wouldn't let him play the game he loves last year. They go out of their way to mention his suspension - violating NBA policy - and now are bad mouthing him to anybody who will listen.

As far as your attempts to make Miles seem like a 'criminal.'
An NBA player smoking weed is definitely a HUGE RED FLAG! LOL.
AND I hope you get some front row seats one days. You should also hear the language that guys like KG, Rasheed, and other NBA players use on the court. Not everyone is Tim Duncan.

Evidently, some of you don't understand the use of the words: "If true" or simply "If." Because I'd used the word "If" twice in two of my posts. With that said, I'm going to just ignore the negative comments on here or from those feeling the need to post in the thread simply when they'd read that Portland is being mentioned.

I'd said it's rumored and speculative talk and people are still talking in a contradictory or argumentative way. People really need to read what people have written first and not read what you want to read or however you want to interpret it. Because you come off defensive and unintelligent.

I don't really give a rats ass about Darius Miles but if you think that POR fans coming to the BOS board to continue to do what the team's front office is apparently doing around the league is going to convince anyone it isn't happening or is somehow justified your friggin daffy.

You would thinks fans of a franchise that was referred to as the Jailblazers would know the difference between getting arrested and not getting arrested. Was he lazy? Sure. Waste of talent? Perhaps. An insubordinate douche bag? Obvious. But that doesn't make him special in the NBA.

Ask yourself this, would they be ripping him around the league if there wasn't any money involved? If no then it is wrong and karma is a salty bitch.

ryaningf wrote:
Doctors have a funny way of disagreeing with each other. I guarantee you there are hundreds of doctors who would take the same results and find no career ending injury.

LOL...I'm sorry, but that is simply ridiculous. I don't accept your "guarantee" as anything more then internet chatter.

A guy could have a fractured forearm with the x-rays to prove it. Any doctor that disagreed with the diagnosis would be a quack.

In other words, you don't know that there are "hundreds of doctors" that would disagree with the orthopedic surgeon that examined Miles. The Blazer team doctors had the same 'opinion', AS WELL as Miles's own doctor.

That 'opinion' was based upon some actual facts, such as the cartilage in Miles's damaged knee being essentially gone causing "bone on bone" contact.

Medical science isn't black and white; there are several shades of grey. That's why they're called medical 'opinions.'

again, I'm guessing you really don't know that much about 'medical opinions', otherwise you wouldn't be saying the things you're saying. This wasn't some mysterious affliction of an organ. This was/is permanent damage to a structural component, specifically the cartilage of a knee. There isn't nearly as much "grey area" to that as you seem to believe.

It's true Miles has had problems on previous teams he's been on. That's not the point. Every NBA team knows the stories and they don't need Portland's input to figure it out. The real point, and truly reprehensible part, if true, is that Portland is allegedly giving other teams UNSOLICITED negative feedback about MIles. It's one thing to answer another team's queries about a player; it's another to use the occasion to say every possible negative thing you can about a guy, knowing that that kind of gossip will spread around the NBA like wild fire.

just where in that article did it say the alleged comments were unsolicited?

And if portland is asked about Miles, are they supposed to lie and say he was a great presence? He sure as hell wasn't. He was a bad apple in portland, he was a bad apple in cleveland, and he was the sam in LA. Being a good apple for a month in boston doesn't erase 7 years of previous bad behaviour.

And that's what Portland is doing: they're spreading unsolicited gossip.

LOL...now you're certain it's all true I see

See, Portland did this before too; they came out, UNSOLICITED, and announced that Miles have violated the league's drug policy. Nobody asked them, they volunteered that information in a not-too-subtle attempt to blackball Miles and to derail his comeback attempt. That's wrong and it violated MIles' privacy rights.

The thing is: this is so transparent. Everyone knows their true motive and all Portland is doing is undermining their reputation around the league, among players, coaches and league executives. And it will come back to haunt them.

well, I see you're prone to take things you don't know for a fact to be true and then building upon them other things...again, which you don't know for a fact are true.