October 27, 2008 11:00 am  |  47 Comments

Darius Miles Shouldn’t Ask the Blazers for a Reference Letter


by Marcel Mutoni

For the folks in Portland’s front office, the fact that Darius Miles was cut by the Boston Celtics last week isn’t enough. No, they reportedly want to make sure that no one in the League inks the 26-year old former Trail Blazer.

From the Boston Globe:

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.

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“Too bad Portland is putting out bad information that he is not a good kid,”one NBA GM said. “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.”

Of course, the issue here is money: If D-Miles plays in ten games over the next two years, the Blazers will responsible for $18 million of his salary.

Any way you slice it, $18 mil is a lot of scratch, but to actively try and keep someone out of the League in order to save money is beyond low. Shame on you, Portland.

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This story is filed under: NBA, The Wire, Top News

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  • niQ Posted: Oct.27 at 11:02 am
    time to go back to acting.

  • Justin Walsh Posted: Oct.27 at 11:10 am
    Damn. If the blazers get away like that…One word: COLLUSION. Money grubbing owners. I swear sometimes owners can be ruthless. Don’t wanna pay Darius Miles? DONT SIGN HIM TO THE DAMN CONTRACT PORTLAND, but dont blackball him from the league, reminiscent of bulls guard Chris Hodges getting blackballed for being honest about the (other) war in the middle east…

  • starbury&stevey Posted: Oct.27 at 11:12 am
    does it count if he plays 10 in europe??is he gonna take his money back??

  • bombsquad Posted: Oct.27 at 11:18 am
    I know fingers Ainge was thinking this when he cut Dmiles, if he’s not gonna be one of your top 5-6 guys why keep him around? Ainge must have weighed up the fact his old friends back in Portland wouldn’t help him out so much if he sold em down the river to the tune of $18 million..Somebody should sign Darius simply to screw the blazers now. In fact the Lakers should sign Dmiles, they’ll be playing the blazers in the western conference finals for the next 5 years..

  • Mo Charlo Posted: Oct.27 at 11:22 am
    That’s too bad. I thought you were cool, Portland.

  • Lang Whitaker Posted: Oct.27 at 11:24 am
    People thought Paul Allen was cool?

  • bob Posted: Oct.27 at 11:26 am
    Darius is still getting paid his $9,000,000 a year. And like alot of players with his attitude…he doesn’t have to do anything to get it. If he can still play he’ll get his 10 games in with an NBA team.

  • Oli Posted: Oct.27 at 11:29 am
    the suns should sign him!!! they had much success with players nobody else wanted? remember: boris diaw, eddie house, tim thomas, raja bell, jim jackson…

  • Oli Posted: Oct.27 at 11:30 am
    ! instead of ?

  • riggs Posted: Oct.27 at 11:34 am
    what changed portland were the players, not their front office…also im still sad (And i dont know why) why the celts didnt keep him :(

  • MENDEL Posted: Oct.27 at 11:37 am
    Hell, it could be worse, they could be like here, let me give you five million and don’t sign him, that way we save thirteen million. Did they do that with the celtics?

  • JackBrown Posted: Oct.27 at 11:45 am
    …and if those things Portland is saying are just the truth?

  • Ryan.T. Posted: Oct.27 at 11:47 am
    Somebody should pick him up just to piss off the Blazers organization. I can think of a few bench warmers Darius Miles might still have more game than…

  • Nate J. (P-town) Posted: Oct.27 at 11:53 am
    Darius Sucks. Everyone In Portland Hate him. you guys are mad because the blazers are up and coming with a strong squad. yes he was good before we signed him to a huge contract. after that he had a ‘injury’ or as you guys would say a ‘vince carter’ i also think that saying is crap. but other than that. darius sucks, nobody likes him. nobody wants him, im suprised the knicks dont pick him up. but he can baraly jump, move, and run. so blazers will be good that nobody will play him more than 1 game. he might move around the league but no one will keep him.
    maybe he should stick to acting.

  • Z Posted: Oct.27 at 11:58 am
    Has it even occured to someone that Darius Miles likes to play pro ball?? The whole rethoric about he still gets 9 Mil is true but doesn’t tell the whole story. The guys is a basketball player, that’s what he does best in life. Of course, he wants to suit up for an NBA team.

  • Z Posted: Oct.27 at 11:59 am
    Lang has a point. You don’t become a billionaire by making friends. I could go on about why billionaires are a glitch in the economic system but whatevs.

  • matt the jazz fan Posted: Oct.27 at 12:01 pm
    it would mke a lot of sense for a division foe to sign him and make him play a minute per game for ten games. great investment (honest competition be damned ;-).

  • RV Posted: Oct.27 at 12:24 pm
    the guy did quit on his team several times, so althought it may not be all bad, its not all good

  • Yknot Posted: Oct.27 at 12:45 pm
    That’s why they haven’t sniffed a chip since Waltons days.

  • Jukai Posted: Oct.27 at 12:55 pm
    … aren’t the Portland GMs being honest though?

  • orteezy Posted: Oct.27 at 1:15 pm
    as a blazer fan, i hope we dont have to pay him. but yeah i cant help but feel a little bad for him since he did have like the worst injury ever for ball players…or maybe he is just an A$$

  • Boing Dynasty Posted: Oct.27 at 1:38 pm
    D Miles is only 26, wtf?

  • OG Posted: Oct.27 at 2:46 pm
    Haven’t sniffed a ’ship since Bill Walton? 1990, 1991, 1992, 2000…I mean, they’re no LAL, but they’ve sniffed four titles since then.

  • OG Posted: Oct.27 at 2:47 pm
    Furthermore, why would some sort of alleged collusion - which, by the way, is just a rumor being perpetuated by an UNNAMED GM - cause the Blazers to lose?

  • Bostwik Posted: Oct.27 at 2:56 pm
    The only bad thing Portland has going for them right now. He’s the last of the Jailblazers.

  • a thought Posted: Oct.27 at 3:03 pm
    soooo… if you’re a western conference team, do you sign miles on a 10-day deal just to screw with portlands cap? yessir!

  • underdog Posted: Oct.27 at 3:06 pm
    Darius should pay several millions for any NBA team to let him play 10 games.

  • B. Long Posted: Oct.27 at 3:33 pm
    Here’s an idea. DO NOT SIGN AN IMMATURE PROJECT TO A CRAZY HUGE CONTRACT IF YOU DON’T WANT TO PAY IT.

  • Jay Posted: Oct.27 at 3:43 pm
    portland. First sam. now this.

  • doyouwantmore Posted: Oct.27 at 4:55 pm
    Why couldn’t Darius sign with a european team. At least then he could feed his family. heh.

  • justin Posted: Oct.27 at 5:27 pm
    Reefer

  • clos1881 Posted: Oct.27 at 7:55 pm
    david stern should step in this sounds like a lawsuit

  • Yknot Posted: Oct.27 at 9:26 pm
    @O.G I’m shrugging my shoulders like Jordan at your Drexler led references. 2000 was a fluke btw.

  • Dacre Posted: Oct.27 at 11:31 pm
    Hmmm…. 18 mil is ALOT of green to fork out for your past mistakes (signing him in the first place….). They should just get him back on the roster all the same - if he’s going to get 10 games in this season you might as well make it worth your own while.

  • Jose Posted: Oct.27 at 11:58 pm
    JERKS.

  • iLL wiLL Posted: Oct.28 at 12:14 am
    Damn. 18 mil. I’d be talking greasy about someone else too in order to protect 18 mil. Eff that.

  • iLL wiLL Posted: Oct.28 at 12:14 am
    Of course, I don’t even have anything that remotely resembles 18 mil, so…

  • knicks 33 Posted: Oct.28 at 12:33 am
    I don’t c y charlotte doesn’t pick him up he was once signed with jordan brand ( I believe) and the bobcats aren’t to happy with may at the 4 (conditioning) and are looking for help y not low risk for a possible high pay off

  • Joe_6Pack Posted: Oct.28 at 12:49 am
    Damn 26 he’s mad young feels like feels like he’s been in the leauge forever I thought h was like 30 or something.

  • Patrick Posted: Oct.28 at 1:39 am
    You mean Craig Hodges, Bulls sharpshooter who spoke out against the war (I think). He did a coaching clinic up here in Van and I heard still got the tickle twine touch…

  • chintao Posted: Oct.28 at 2:26 am
    Co-sign B. Long. Free Craig Hodges.

  • Nate j (p-town) Posted: Oct.28 at 11:29 am
    The thing about picking up D-miles, is he will probably rot on your bunch. Thats all he did for portland.
    the blazers are a good organization. Just look how the changed from the jail blazers and now going to compete for a title in upcoming years. if they bad mouth d-miles then they have a good reason. shouldnt you guys be mad at the celtics for waiving him after a few games? if he was so good then they woulda kept him.
    Do you see any of the old jail blazers doing anything good?
    besides sheed who won a title.
    no.
    zach first season with the knicks sucked. damon is still moving around the league. derek anderson won a title in miami but sat on the bench.
    no one will pick up his contract to play him in 10 games.

  • Nate j (p-town) Posted: Oct.28 at 11:30 am
    bench**

  • GH Posted: Oct.28 at 2:28 pm
    D- Miles is trash he did nothing but coz problems in portland. He was doing alot of things behind closed doors. Such as Drugs getting in bar fights that never leaked to the public. He was the last of our terrible team in Portland and i am so GLAD!! to see him go why would we keep him when he cant play.

  • josesito Posted: Oct.28 at 9:24 pm
    Stay classy San Diego

  • NBA-JERSEY-KING Posted: Oct.28 at 11:40 pm
    miles would fit in with the knicks

  • ktokyo Posted: Oct.29 at 4:53 am
    I think Miles has warmed out his welcome in the league. He kind of resembled KG’s potential, but not his discipline and intensity. He picked up a drug habit and has a bad attitude. What are the Blazers supposed to say? Either way, he won’t make a difference on anyone’s team.

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