I see where you're coming from, but we're talking about Hunter siding with an actual player vs. a hypothetical player.
This confuses me a bit. I haven't been all up on this as some in here have, but I haven't heard one word from the league saying this was a bad email, the Blazers are under sanctions, they shouldn't have said it, etc. The only thing I've heard is that Miles is a FA, and any contract extended will be honored. Billy Hunter stuck his foot in his mouth (but when hasn't he?), but I would've expected a statement from the league if they really had a problem with this. Maybe I missed something?
I don't really care about the e-mail. Since some fans seem to be put off about it, it would be cool if KP would explain what they were thinking on Mike Barrett's blog. I'm betting that they've had a plan for how they would respond to this outcome since they retired Miles. Grizz suck. They're now lower than Laker shit.
The player's union is supporting any team that signs Miles after Portland's threat. What exactly can Portland sue other teams for btw?
The players' union said the Blazers were colluding to exclude Darius Miles from signing a contract. Darius Miles just signed the worst contract available to him in the NBA by one of the worst teams in the NBA. Clearly no collusion, so end of grievance.
I think it's pretty hollow in the end. I think it was more a threat than anything, and I think management knows they can't do anything. They've been saying for months now they've got plans designed for however the Miles saga unfolds. I think Portland's management is just seeing how other franchises respond, but ultimately, Portland has a plan on how it wants to respond (roster-wise, with less cap room).
I don't think that Paul Allen is just simply willing to hand over $9 million for the other owners in the NBA to divide among themselves. May as well spend $1 million in legal fees just to make them suffer.
Who cares though. Now we have to use the money we have on our own guys and not get another free agent. We still have RLEC.
I think it's hollow in that I don't think Portland's claims hold a lot of water. I can't see anyone saying, "Gee, Portland. You're right. Miles' salary can come off you cap even though he met the rules set forth." I think Allen will go for it. He could spend $15 million, and it wouldn't matter. It's just change to him. He could afford a billion dollar roster if league rules allowed. I think he's willing to spend whatever it takes to give the team the most cap flexibility to make the team the best it can possibly be so that it's in the best position to win a championship. It's not about the money here. It's about whether or not Paul spending money on legal fees results in a resolution in Portland's favor, ultimately. And I can't see that happening. The only way it truly happens is if teams were scared by Miller's email, which at this point, there are a couple teams that apparently are not.
I said that the Blazers were telling other businesses how to run their business. Is that a unfair interpretation of the email? I don't think so because I read that email telling me what the rules are and I better not break the rules when it comes to the Blazers. To me that is telling me how to run my business . . . don't break the rules as we have laid them out . . . don't do this. If they are right about the rule, then I already know that and wouldn't do it . . . and they don't need to tell/threaten me. And if I disagree with how they interpret the rule, then they are telling me what I can and cannot do. ?????? I don't know, Barfo had the same comment as you so maybe that is a stretch. But I still think some had to be offended by the email. Again my biggest objection is "I don't need you to tell me what is right and what is wrong"
And my response to Gilbert is "perhaps there are better ways, but since the ways we've been using since Boston did it in August didn't dissuade Heisley and Wallace before, we're letting EVERYONE know where we stand. You know the rules, and we know the rules. We're saying we will probably sue you if you attempt to maliciously screw us". If you're offended, don't go into partnerships with guys like Heisley and Clay-Clay. Sorry if you're caught up in the storm.
See, that's the problem with emotion being involved in business. Gilbert of Cleveland already showed his hand today. I'd use that against him covertly in future negotiations. Gilbert was offended, and I'd use that against him in negotiating with him in the future. What is factual is that Miles signed the worst possible contract available to him. Goodbye NBA union grievance, and goodbye Billy Hunter's credibility. Hunter was offended and shot himself in the foot. Did I mention I love the business side of the game?
What I've been trying to say, is that I think Portland knows that, and they're saying it to scare other teams. I think Portland knows some teams will be scared off, some won't, some are in the middle where they don't care because they wouldn't sign Derriere Miles anyway. Have you ever been in an argument where you know you're smarter than the person you're arguing with, so you start throwing out BS cuz you know they'll bite? I think more than anything, that's what Portland is doing. Good decision or not, it's what Portland feels is the best business decision in this case. Not the smartest move, as I think some fans are wondering about the integrity of the franchise, but ultimately, I don't think it's going to harm the franchise.
May this be the beginning of a long and hate filled rivalry. Who cares if we beat the living crap out of them, it's on.
I didn't think the email was telling people what to do, just saying what the Blazers would do if a certain scenario occurred. The only people who should even care about the email are the few who are thinking about signing Miles for that singular purpose. If owners/presidents/GM's who aren't even effected by this want to take offense for whatever reason, then that's their deal. I said earlier today that I don't like how we went about this, and that the response has been exactly as I thought it would be (not good). I'm sure they felt this was the best course of action, I'm just not seeing it yet. It's easy to see how it would rub people the wrong way, but if you look at the email objectively they're not telling anyone how to run their business, just like they're not telling anyone they can't sign Miles.
WELL. It was a last resort. Two more games by Miles and we pay. We obviously waited as long as we could hoping everyone would realize Miles is garbage. He's really not going to impact any team in a good way and now with this it's only gonna create more negativity for the Grizz. I figure we couldn't just sit back, we had to do something.
I just took off my Blazers license plate frame. I hung up all my jerseys in the back of my closet. I removed the window sticker from my gf's car... The threatening e-mail, the treatment of Darius, the way the league and 29 other teams has claimed that Darius can still play... I just can not support the team right now. A lot of you will probably think I am a bandwagon fan for this but it is really tough for me to continue to support the actions of the Blazer organization considering what has transpired over the last three days... I just can't agree with any of the recent actions, I didn't agree with the actions of the Blazers' organization when they cut Darius. I can't disagree with them having to face the music and pay Darius what they owed him, but the way they have handled everything was poor on their part. They have quickly made me disinterested in anything they do on the court, because they can't handle things correctly off the court.
