Cho Comments on Oden and Miller

I thought that was discussed in the conversation between Pritchard, Nate, and Miller in Las Vegas.

Also, why did no elite team immediately snatch up Miller to put them over the top, if his value was so high around the league? $7 million seems like a small amount to pay for a difference-maker at PG, yet Miller was a FA until late July of 2009.

 

There is a salary cap. You do know how that works, no?

 

He was the Blazers second option. Remember, Hedo Turkgolu was the first option. We had to spend that valuable cap space on something, it was either him or nothing.

 

Not much difference between Miller's contract and the MLE, though. Plus, Philly didn't even offer him.

 

Paul Millsap was the 2nd option, and Utah matched the Toxic Offer from Hell (which is in part how Portland got Matthews, but I digress).

 

Who else that had cap space needed a point guard and was willing to pay $7 million for him?

 

The MLE would have worked, though. Who had an MLE available to them?

 

I think if POR offers a QO then he becomes a Restricted FA next year, any team that makes an offer to Oden (and he accepts) POR would have the option to match. If Oden does not accept any other teams offer (including POR) and plays out the next year on his deal, then he becomes an UFA, free to sign anywhere,

So the ball is in Oden's court, once POR offers the QO, which I cannot see a reason why they would not.

 

Wow you truly hate Miller don't you? There is a poster in O-live that harps so much on Roy, that he'd rather the team lose with Roy leading the helm, than want a Blazer win. Is that you, but with Miller?

 

Why would you assume the MLE would work when he got more than the MLE?

A lot of other teams already either have/had better PGs, or PGs locked into a lot of money.
Looking at all of the contenders from the previous season, Boston had Rondo, Cleveland had Mo Williams, Orlando had Jameer Nelson, Denver had Billups, Utah had Deron, N.O. had Paul, Lakers, he doesn't fit in the triangle well. Then you have to remember that a lot of teams had their eyes on the following year's free agency. So even if they were interested in him, a team like Miami, Chicago, etc. would have passed on him.

 

He is currently a restricted free agent. We have until June 30th to offer him a QO of 8.8 million. He can reject it, but he is still a RFA. Meaning he has the ability to look for another deal, and then we have the right to match that deal. If he does not accept the QO, he needs to find another deal, as that is the last year of his contract. There is no other year to play out.

His choices are to accept the QO, and still hunt around for a long term deal from another team and/or negotiate one with us. Or, reject it, and find another offer from a team for us to match. Or accept it, play out the season, and THEN become UFA.

 

I don't hate anyone. I'm just wondering what Miller's value is around the NBA. 2 years ago, the answer was not very high, and I'm wondering if his contract is more attractive than his value as a player. What gives you the impression that I don't want the Blazers to win, regardless of who is playing?

 

A couple of points...

Every other team in the league did not pass on Andre Miller. That's utter nonsense. You make it sound like he was placed on waivers and nobody picked him up. He was a FA and very few teams had the cap space to sign him. And, as others have pointed out, many other teams already had big bucks tied up in their current starting PGs. As was also pointed out, some of the few teams (Knicks, Bulls, Heat, etc.) that had cap space in 2009 elected not to use it for fear of missing out on the 2010 free agent bonanza. The Blazers got a break. They picked up a player at a position of need and got him with a favorable contract (in both amount and length, with the 3rd year team option a nice bonus).

Even if Greg Oden does become an unrestricted free agent the Blazers will still hold his Bird rights. So, while they technically won't have the option of macthing all other offers, unless something drastically changes in the new CBA, they will be able to offer him a longer contract and considerably more money than any other team. Oden would have to REALLY want out of Portland to leave that kind of money on the table. This also assumes Oden can stay healthy enough, long enough to convince at least one other team to throw a ton of money at him. In which case, the Blazers will offer him 1.2 tons of money.

As far as the new CBA goes, I don't see the owners giving up Bird rights. To do so would cause the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. It would be a situation similar to Major League Baseball where the small market teams develop all the young talent and then all the big names eventually end up with the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Dodgers and Angels. Allowing Bird rights helps keep the small market teams from becoming a farm system for the Lakers, Celtics, Heat, Bulls and Knicks. I just can't see any situation where the majority of owners agree to abolish Bird rights.

BNM

 

No, asked if you are just like the poster in the O-live forum that obviously would rather the Blazers lose when Roy was on the floor, than accept Roy was somehow a part of the win. And the main reason why I question you're "feelings on Miller", is I never once read anything positive in your posts regarding miller. In fact, it kinda seems you go out of your way to make him look like our losses or lack of success has more to do with Miller being a Blazer, than the team actually playing like shit.

I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, just seems that way to me.

 

He signed a 3-year/$21 million contract. The MLE averaged ~$6.6 million/season in the 2009 free agent period. No team offered him a MLE contract, and Philly only offered him a 1-year deal.

Somebody could have at least offered Miller that contract, and nobody did. So, he ended up in Portland as Option C, and two first-round exits later, the Blazers again need a PG of the future (and present). As for teams passing on him, that's the point, isn't it?

 

Bird rights really only matter on the 6th year for a UFA, and if the Blazers are going to come close to maxing out Oden for 6 years, Cho needs to have his head examined. Talk about a risk ... wow.

 

Thanks for sharing. You can find plenty of examples of me giving praise to Miller this season. I won't apologize for wanting to upgrade at PG, though, and think Miller's best value for the long-term success of the franchise may be as part of a trade (if the right trade to upgrade the position presents itself).

To answer your stupid question, no, I don't root against the Blazers because Andre Miller plays for them. That you would have to ask that question tells me you aren't very observant.

 

Cool... Neat story!

 

You have no idea. You should have seen PapaG in his heyday back when the Miller/Roy drama was in full effect. There was also the whole "wow Miller is so lazy.. why isn't he in Portland working out with the team yet?" episode during the summer of 09.

 

Wrong. It also impacts maximum annual raises. 10.5% with Bird rights, 8% without. So not only can a team with Bird rights offer a 6th season (the most valuable of the contract), but can also pay more for seasons 2 - 5.

The point being, if Greg does stay healthly enough to get a big offer from another team, no matter how big that offer is, the Blazers will have the option, even if he's a UFA, to offer him substantially more - should they chose to do so.

BNM