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Rip City is about to get, well...ripped
Wow - everyone thought he needed 8 more games but it turns out the preseason games count too...so now he only needs 2 more games to put his contract back on the books....
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_yl...yhoo&type=lgns
Until now, Portland Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard had a secret it appears most of the NBA hadn’t taken the time to discover for itself: Darius Miles is on the brink of blowing up the Blazers’ salary-cap space.
Most of the NBA believed Miles still was eight regular-season games away from devastating the Blazers’ salary cap, but Yahoo! Sports learned on Wednesday that Miles is just two games away.
Teams had been under the impression that the league’s 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.
All along, the Blazers knew exactly that the preseason games counted, but a league official said Wednesday night, “He wanted to keep it quiet.”
Apparently, no team had called the league for clarification on the rule that states the season is cons uted by the “first day of training camp and ending immediately after the last game of the NBA Finals.”
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.
Any team in the NBA simply 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 compe or 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.
Most NBA executives are reveling in the fact that clogging the Portland cap could be a way to slow the rapid rise of the franchise. Beyond that, there is a level of jealousy over the way that Portland’s owner, Paul Allen, buys up draft picks from poorer teams for his GM to use.
All in all, league executives have been rooting hard for Miles to play those 10 games after he missed two years with a knee injury that Portland and league doctors declared was career-ending.
“Someone is going to scoop him up and play him those two games now,” one Eastern Conference executive said when told the news on Wednesday night. “Portland is screwed.”
One West GM thinks the Denver Nuggets, who moved under the luxury tax threshold on Wednesday, will be motivated to sign Miles.
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.
When reached on Wednesday night, Jeff Weschler, Miles’ agent, said he suspected the rule clarification might be true but had yet to get a confirmation from the NBA.
“We’re not focused on that,” he said. “Our focus is on Darius getting back and playing ball again. Our focus is not trying to hurt the Blazers.”
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DD
Rip City is about to get, well...ripped
Do it Mitch!
This is just complete bull . Why the league would consider meaningless preseason games as counting is beyond my comprehension.
Unbeavable
I guess a person who has the ability to play in preseason games really didnt have a career ending injury....
I hope the Rockets do it since the Blazers screwed us by trading up for Brandon Roy.
Come on Morey...get em !!
DD
Portland has burnt Houston on draft day enough that I wouldn't mind burning that bridge with a flamethrower. Bring him in to H-Town!
Houston screwed themselves when they traded away Rudy Gay and still didn't get out of the first round since.
If that was stipulated in the terms of the deal originally, then it's hard to really argue it. I don't blame the Blazers for not bringing it up, but they can't be surprised it's getting called out.
Either way, it's the difference between 2 games and 10 games, and I still think he would've been picked up even for the 10. Personally, I'm wondering if the Spurs shouldn't give him a look now that they've opened up a roster spot.
haha!
Seriously. I don't know why in the you'd about this tlong. Fortuna's smiled on your franchise more than any other in recent years... by far.
I hope somebody picks him up for only 2 games and then waives him, solely to over the too lucky Blazers in the name of spite.
That is clearly the ONLY reason why a team would pick him up now. The dude can't play anymore. I would say to any team that picks him up..."What goes around, comes around!"
Does this situation work only this year or can he play preseason games next year?
Yeah that is EXACTLY why the Rockets should pick him up, since you guys bypassed us to get to Roy...
Payback.....time baby !!
Morey to Blazers GM...
"Well we have signed Miles, tell ya what though, you give us Bayless, or Outlaw for Head, and we will sit him all year to protect your cap."
And if the Blazers refuse, play Miles one game then call back.
Morey "Are you sure?"
DD
Portland had a higher pick to begin with. The Rockets screwed themselves by trading Rudy Gay.
We had a deal in place for Roy.....with Minnesota contigent on Foye being there, Portland got wind and screwed it up for us...
And honestly, JVG screwed us by playing regulars against the Nuggets which stopped us from being above Minnesota anyway.
But, they did it.....and Battier is better than Rudy Gay at winning...how is Gay doing for Memphis? Are they winning?
DD
Are you seriously going to argue you'd rather have Shane Battier than Rudy Gay?
Of course, for the Rockets Shane Battier is a perfect complimentary piece. He spaces the floor and plays good defense.
Only morons would just look at a stat sheet to consider basketball talent levels.
DD
Nobody's looking at stat sheets, we're looking at skill sets. Don't be a dumb.
Do it Darius, play 2 more games. Anything to prevent the wayyy too fast rise of the Blazers.
Come on some team out there screw the Blazers over.
Now that it's beginning to be clearer and clearer that T-Mac is on his steep decline, you'd rather have Battier there as a primary perimeter scorer than Rudy Gay?
And, if Battier is such a perfect complimentary piece, why the did the Rockets acquire Ron Artest, who plays the same position and defensive role?
Another Jerry West special
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