lol, already. I thought he would be a tight player back when he played in Cleveland, but he keeps digging his own grave.
This has been in the cards for a while now, I'm pretty sure. The drug he used was a health drug to help with his knee I believe.
How did they make a mistake? Is the contract even guaranteed? I look at it this way. He's a low-risk, high-reward player. They're not paying all that much for him and he could turn out to be a great 6th man if he's in shape. If he's not and has clearly lost any playing ability he ever had, he can be waived pretty easily.
Ainge signed Miles as a favor to the league and it's really irrelevant whether he's going to miss ten games due to suspension, in my opinion. If the substance allowed him to rehab his knee faster, more power to him. The only thing that matters is that he plays ten games this season. He's not going to be a rotation player and as long as Doc plays him enough to get the Trailblazers on the hook for his contract, therefore decreasing their future cap-room, his signing is justified, in my eyes. Darius Miles is not going to ruin the team chemistry and frankly, his suspension is an non-issue.
Frankly, they should have waited until Miles played ten games before signing Cassell, who could have taken the role as "team consultant" until Ainge waived Darius. In the present situation, I think they should cut Patrick O'Bryant. Scalabrine does an equally fine job of committing fouls.
I wanna see what O'Bryant can do with a year or two of playing Non-Nellie ball first before cutting him. he can commit fouls with a bigger body and guard the wide loads way better than Scalabrine can too
Bingo. We should not be quick to cut O'Bryant. He was drafted into a system that didn't suit him. Give him time in this offense before making a decision.
Miles' signing is far more significant. Portland is far less dangerous without an extra nine million in cap room the next two seasons. For what it's worth, Sam's contract isn't guaranteed, as well, so I think the best scenario would be waiving him and re-signing him as soon as Miles gets his ten games in. Ainge really has a month to decide, so there's no rush. Miles apparently is playing well in camp so far, so he might even stay for the remainder of the season.
hey premier, i was wondering if you could give me a better idea about miles chances of actually getting his contract guaranteed. as far as i can tell, its between him and pruit. is pruits contract guaranteed already?
I wouldn't be opposed to that either (Miles staying for the season). Plus, I really don't care about Portland's salary cap situation. By the time they're ready for perennial title contention, the big 3 will be much older and less efficient and I don't think Portland would have us on their list of teams to worry about.
Pruitt's contract is guaranteed for one more year. I doubt Ainge cuts him. Absent of Brandon Hunter, I don't think Ainge has ever waived a draft pick. He either re-signs them or he trades them. The Celtics were fine before P.J. Brown got here with Glen Davis and Leon Powe playing with either Garnett and Perkins. Garnett or Perkins should be on the floor for meaningful (everything but garbage time) minutes. That way, while Powe and Davis are undersized, the Celtics will still have a seven foot big men in the lineup. I don't think O'Bryant will be cut (too much money/years invested in him), but I think keeping Miles for ten games is more important. Portland's cap space is dangerous. They can sign a quality starter next offseason to a multi-year deal and still use birds rights to extend their rookies (the ones that don't mind sharing the limelight, that is). Paul Allen has deep pockets and yes, I am worried about the Trailblazers. Even though I hardly think Pritchard is as smart as everyone claims he is and I fear that their basketball model is severely flawed in the regard that playing a bunch of kids all at once is a recipe for disaster, the Trailblazers will be a force in this league in a few years for an extended period of time. that was really incoherent, no?
