The blazers were doing what was best for both parties. Miles get nearly 20 million to not play, and the blazers don’t get hurt by having him on their salary cap.

Then… I think Miles’ agent was like “Hey man.. you can still play” and Darius was like “I can?” and his agent was all like “Yeah bro!” And Darius was like…“But I’m retired” And his agent was like “…but you don’t have to be!” Then Darius asked “But…what about my knee? I really would like to keep walking” And his agent replied “We both know you will waste the money portland is paying you, and then be broke in a couple years, you might as well get what you can, while you can.” And Miles said… “yeah man…yeah”

That if the front office had any idea at all that Miles could play even a little ….they would have kept control of his contract. It isn’t as if they are required to play him or even have him near the team (see Starbury)…..the only thing they really lose in that scenario is the 15th roster spot (currently held by Shav) and they would have been able to trade the expiring contract to some team in the LeBron lottery.

That is what sucks so much about the way this is going down. The team followed the league rules and now get neither the player (Miles’ Contract for trade purposes) or the benefit of him being off the cap (plus the tax benefits). It is obvious (to me anyway) that the Medical retirement rules should only apply to the team that the player retires from. For instance if Miles had came back to the Blazers and we played him for 10 games …then it should come back on our cap (but with the full benefit of being able to then trade that contract) or ….If he comes back on another team then that team pays him whatever the going rate is …and the original team has no cap impact from this (but is on the hook for his original garranteed contract) …so Miles would even be able to double dip if he so chose. This would have taken care of all the shenanigins going on now. And would have been fair to the team and the player in question.

due to the legitness and street cred that goes along with it. It seems well established that Darius loves the NBA lifestyle more than he loves the game of basketball.

The Blazers wanted a cancer out of the locker room and wanted cap space. They thought 18 million would keep Darius on the couch eating ice cream.

Darius wanted to ball. So he did. He did it for love of the game. He’s 31 years old and has no idea what to do with his life if he’s not playing basketball. I’d buy his jersey if he came back and stayed out of trouble for the next 8 years and played solid basketball. Problem is, I have a feeling this will be a short-lived stint, and we’ll see neither longevity nor the opportunity for Darius to prove himself “reformed.”

If Darius had wanted to play so bad and that is his primary motivation, to play in the NBA, he would have worked harder during his recovery in Portland.

See, the thing is you have no possible way to know this. You weren’t there. From what I read in the Oregonian, Darius was coming to the practice facility every day he was supposed to.

I think that if Darius could have played as well as he did in his last Memphis game the Blazers wouldn’t have sought to seek medical retirement.

There is a short video from a Blazers practice (before he was retired obviously) where Darius drives past someone and dunks. (17 seconds in) Honestly he looked fine. I’m not sure how you can medically retire a guy who can still drive and dunk like that. Medical retirement from basketball requires that someone is unable to play basketball. Clearly Darius is able.

“Would Memphis be signing and playing Darius Miles, if his Blazers contract did not affect their cut of the luxury tax this season?”

A. Yes
B. No.

That’s the assumption, but were you there? Have you ever rehabbed a knee? (I have—after an ACL reconstruction in the pre-arthroscope days—and it’s incredibly difficult.) Just because GO made it back in a year doesn’t mean anything, BTW, because his cartilage lesion was reportedly the size of a pencil eraser, whereas Miles’ was extensive.

As for motivations, we’re just guessing. Certainly the Blazers have been motivated by financial interest. But there may also have been at least an element of concern that Miles risks lifelong disability by trying to play on a damaged knee.

In the case of the Grizzlies, more than likely they’re more interested in eliminating free-agent competition from the Blazers than in adding an aging, out-of-shape, and possibly hobbled small forward. But that question will be answered by what the Griz do with Miles after this 10-day contract runs out.

Finally, regarding Miles’ motivation: as I understand it, he gets paid whether he plays or not. So possibly he wants to stick it to the Blazers for giving up on him. But maybe he just wants to ball. You know, it is a fun game to play, and all the more so if you’re good enough to play at the NBA level. Plus there’s all the perks and props you get for being an NBA player. So there’s plenty of non-malignant motivation right there.

I didn’t vote in this poll, because, like the rest of you, I don’t have a clue what’s really going on behind the scenes with this issue. But more importantly, I’d rather let the lawyers sort ALL of this out and get back to watching our great young team play. This is the season we’ve been waiting for, remember? The season when the team has a realistic chance of making the playoffs and even making a bit of a splash once they get there. More importantly, this is the season when we get to see the flowering of—we hope—a perennial contender.

Why let ANYTHING distract you from something as cool as that? Why spend so much time and attention over an issue that mainly will impact the wallet of a multi-billionaire? The Blazers are loaded already—whether or not they get the gift of extra salary cap room.

can we use his contract to trade?