that presents such a one-sided bias of an issue. Did Woj even talk to anybody within the Blazers organization before publishing this article? To me, it rings pretty clear that he had this article typed away for a few weeks, and was just waiting for the right timing to release it.

He sounds like Jason Quick’s evil twin brother.

and general smear attempt. Is he best friends with Memphis’ GM?

by an observer who has no real interest in the blazers or desire to research a story, and just runs with it for sensationalist purposes like Nick Van Excellent said.

i read the whole article from top to bottom, and to me it seems he has a vendetta against KP, and possibly some kind of beef with the blazers. however he doesnt present enough facts about darius miles as a player in portland.

terrible story, this is why i dont read yahoo sports anymore, general crap reporting

to this article earlier. I will abide by Dave’s rule of no cussing, but will say it is a piece of garbage intended to have passer bys sniff and look at it, in order to get attention. “Everyone, look at me, look at me”. AW just lost a lot of respect in my opinion, and I actually liked the guy.

“He stockpiled draft choices like Reagan did nuclear warheads, buying up millions of dollars worth of picks from cash-strapped teams over the past several seasons.”

You are comparing draft picks to weapons of mass destruction?

‘Cash strapped teams’? Did we bully those poor NBA teams into giving us those picks?

I will be e-mailing this tool and not follow Dave’s rules of remaining civil.

 Even though I haven’t been a fan for very long I understand exactly where he went wrong and just how little work he put into that article, it’s just hatred. I thought it was disgusting.

when Wojnarowski said how Miles had ‘grown up’ since his days in Portland. Well we remember and it wasn’t him JUST being immature, he cussed out his coach and had the coach fired! So just cause he decided to grow up now we should forgive and forget all his ‘immature actions’.

I’m not going to give them the website hit and bother reading the column, it’s not even necessary for me now. It’s funny how badly the majority of the media wanted to jump on the Blazers bandwagon, and now how they want to tear them down. To even refer to this incident as Jailblazer like is laughable, and ironic given that the team was taking every possible, legal and within the rules step to rid themselves of their final Jailblazer. Shame on Wojnarowski for his misguided blow hard conclusions. Most teams in the NBA would have done the same exact thing.

swing for the fences sensationalism. Of course KP has a healthy ego – most successful people in competitive fields do, at least as pertains to their abilities. Put it this way – would you feel comfortable going to a wishy washy doctor/having a CEO who had a panic attack whenever a decision needed to be made? I know web traffic/advertising is the name of the game, especially in an era with so many competing outlets, but this is over the top. Unfortunately, dreck like this is becoming the rule, not the exception.

Is why, if Darius had to play 10 games, and the pre-season games counted, didn’t the 10 game suspension happen during the pre-season also?

Why is he the one who determined the preseason game rule and has just been all over this story like he is darius’ mom and is trying to get back at her boy’s former employers for being mean..

Maybe sources he’s close to—e.g., a couple of Eastern Conference GM’s—are jealous and resentful of KP and the Trailblazers, and AW is carrying their water. In any case, by so obviously going overboard in his attacks on KP, AW has just made himself look bad. Very bad. Sports writing ain’t the stuff of Pulitzers. But this piece doesn’t meet minimal standards of journalism. Actually, it’s embarrassing.

Dave, above, insists that the Blazers did everything “by the book” in the original medical retirement of Miles.

Woj seems to imply otherwise—suggesting that the Blazers won’t pursue any legal action (despite threats to) because of improper conduct on their own part—conduct which would be relevant and discoverable should a lawsuit (or an arbitration, I suppose) take place.

A few posters here seem to agree with Woj. One poster (I can’t remember which one, and I’d not mention the name even if I could) even accused the Blazers of somehow forcing Miles into medical retirement, even though they knew that he was now healthy. (The exact comment suggested that Miles had started a workout program last summer, and had experienced significant improvement in his knee—but the Blazers encouraged him to retire anyway).

Which brings up a few questions:

• Can the team force a player to take a medical retirement against his/her will? Or is this something that only the player can request? I was under the impression, from the Oregonian’s coverage of the topic prior to Darius retiring (Canzano/Quick were discussing the topic of Miles retiring years ago), that the latter was the case—that the league rules prevented the Blazers from even discussing the issue with the player.

• Anyone have the exact timeline handy of public statements concerning Miles health, the medical retirement, etc?

I think that the article singles out KP rather unfairly—this seems to be a high enough business decision (and concerns matters irrelevant to the basketball operations), so tthat I would be surprised if the bucks stops with Pritchard on this one.

Writers with a jealous grudge will crawl out of the woodwork at the least opportunity. You have to expect that.

Pritchard’s work over the last 3 seasons has been nothing short of brilliant, and some media members just can’t stand to have a figure with no mud on their face. Makes them look bad, you see. So here he is, flinging mud at the Blazers in the hope that some of it lands on KP.

Really, how does the handling of the Miles situation make the organization any worse than it was back before Miles was medically retired in the first place? It doesn’t. In fact, we’re still better off because Darius and his “me-first” attitude are now miles away (no pun intended) from the Blazers locker room.

What is Wojnarowski’s article really doing? Blowing smoke. And that’s honestly not all bad for the Blazers right now. I think David Aldridge said it best when he said no one’s going to care about Oden’s struggles as long as the Darius story is still in the news. With Greg fouling out in limited minutes (again) last night, that kind of distraction is exactly what we need. Thanks Woj!

Bottom line the Blazers organization pulled a punk move in how they handled the Darius Miles situation. In hind sight, the email sent out by Larry Miller had a negative impact on the perception of the Blazers league wide. I could care less about how other teams and people view us, if it weren’t systemic of poor decisions in the recent past. The Comcast deal anyone? I don’t know if Larry Miller acted independently, or if there was pressure from other sources (read Paul Allen), but I think 2 atrocious management decisions certainly deserves some examination of said executive’s job performance.

Look, we’re not too far removed from the Trader Bob and Nash eras. The common denominator is the ownership group who may have at one time been very skilled at developing sub par operating system software, but has shown historically to be a poor evaluator of basketball talent and stadium lease laws. So lets get on with it and make Larry Miller the latest in a long line of patsies to blame for Paul Allen’s inability to hire the right people.

Never have I felt more strongly about this statement than I do now. One thing that amazes me about the articles I have read regarding Darius and/or KP is how often we hear an unnamed GM say, “What did he coin the term Pritch-slapped or something?” I am sure this term has been used on other websites, maybe even brought up in some editorials, and I am sure Danny Ainge and Chris Wallace cry about it to each other as they have long conversations in the bathtub. But make no mistake terms like Pritch-slapped became popularized on this website. Our celebrations of Prichard’s success have been read by some of the highest individuals in the NBA. Not only that, but these NBA GMs have had their egos bruised so badly by KPs actions and our gloating that they had to go whining to a Yahoo Sports reporter willing to write this garbage. So instead of being upset about what Wojnarowski wrote, we should rejoice in the reality that our love for this team and our admiration for our GMs accomplishments have gotten so far under the skin of opposing GMs. They’re not angry because Prichard did something wrong, they’re angry because Prichard is a better GM than they are.

In KP we trust

I already did my cathartic commenting within the sidebar thread. I think you have written a good response. A good balanced response and kudos for that. Because as a Blazer fan if you read the article the first reaction is to want to bring a Bazooka to the Bazooka match.

The only thing I might add personally at this point is that as a fan I’m a little “Shocked”, maybe a little “hurt” at the extremeness of Wojnarowskis attack. We fans invest ourselves emotionally within our chosen teams. I try to remain objective, I don’t think I’m so blinded that I can’t admit when The Blazers make mistakes. It’s a franchise, operated, owned and run by humans, perfection should not be expected on any level. But when Wojnarowski goes on and on about the arrogance of the entire franchise and then specificly attacks KP over almost every thing he’s done since arriving. Holding it against KP that he’s been succesful and been well received by most Blazer fans? That bothers me. I wonder if Wojnarowski is representitive of a bigger picture? Miles and E-Mail issue aside, how did we get to be do disliked? Are GM’s and media really that jealous of our success? So we obtained Brandon Roy and LMA, we got lucky and the opportunity to draft Oden, we’ve bought some draft picks and we got Sergio and Fernandez and it looks like we made good choices in obtaining Batum and Bayless. Has that perceived success really made people outside of the Blazer fanbase THAT jealous, that upset? I kind of feel like the High School stereotype of the popular kid, that thinks people like him, but then over hears his supposed friends trashing him behind his back.

Yes, I think Blazer Management has a lot to answer for in what I think has been poor handling of the Miles situation. But does that warrant an attack on the entire management and ownership? Does that warrant the labeling of arrogant on the entire franchise? Plus should KP be attacked and torn down because he has been succesful? None of that seems correct to me.

a) I’ve written a ton of unpopular thoughts on StR, and many of them were poorly received, and even when faced with the possibility that long term I was correct, very few people want to deal with the reality—glad to see that isn’t the case here (it also helps when it’s your name on the blog though)

b) If I was going to write about this, which I’m not, it’s nice to see that someone can take an even approach

c) All your points across the board are important to note; something few fans outside of Portland, who are clearly jealous of the organization, but I’m not sure those jealous even know why, and it’s skewing perspective depending which route you take in all this

d) The medical retirement rule has flaws, namely the fact that the Blazers couldn’t make him medically retired, only the Players Association could (something many are forgetting)

e) last but not least, Wojnarowski has been very inflammatory over the whole issue, and has stoked the fire far beyond where it should have ever gone in the first place, and I’m glad someone had was willing to state that the issue is not clear cut, and in fact the issue’s are gray area as you pointed out Dave

I’ve read some of your stuff over the years, but this was a classic even for you.

For whatever hollow intimidation they used to try to stop the signing of Miles, Blazers officials understood this: They were the last people who would’ve wanted to go under oath about the behind-the-scenes machinations of Miles’ injury retirement. Only the Blazers would’ve been on trial. Only they would’ve had to answer the most uncomfortable of questions.
* * *
The irony of it all, of course, is that Miles has turned into an improbable teacher to the Blazers, giving them some lessons on professionalism and humility. Yes, he had been immature for most of his career. He had made terrible mistakes. Only now, he has grown up.

And while I think the “infamous email” was poor judgment on the Blazers’ part, the overall national reaction has been heavy handed and half informed. I enjoyed watching the Blazers before all of this happened, and I still enjoy watching them now.

Good luck and good health in the 2nd half.

Especially your ability to not allow your own emotions to cloud your responses.

I do, however, disagree with you on one point, when you say

Obviously Miles can play because he has. He should not be medically retired at this point.

I agree fully with your first sentence. But you jump a bit too quickly to the conclusion of your second sentence.

His ability to play a few minutes a game and whether he ‘should’ retire or not are not necessarily so easy to link. The reports I remember reading this spring about the results of his examination with the independent doctor pointed more to the risk of future permanent injury, possible reduction in his future quality of life, and whether or not future play would lead to knee replacement. The doctor did not say that he was physically disabled today.

Very few players who retire for medical reasons are incapable of playing basketball. Most of the time, it’s more of an issue of ‘playing isn’t worth the physical consequences of playing any longer.’

‘Am I able to play?’ and "Should I continue to play?’ are two very different questions.

The tone of Wojnaroski’s column when he writes about KP is what gets me. He assumes more than simple arrogance in Kevin’s character, but writes as if he is a megalomaniac with delusions of grandeur. No one doubts that Kevin is assertive or even arrogant. But that’s not the tone of the article. Wojnarowski writes in such a way as to imply that KP not only thinks far too highly about himself than he should, but that he is desperately in need of humbling events in order to bring him back to earth.

There are definitely people like that in this world. I have had the misfortune of meeting and interacting with several over the course of my lifetime. But I’m curious as to how Wojnarowski arrives at this assessment of KP’s character. Is it because of personal experience in dealing with Kevin? Reports from other league officials? Just a convenient picture to paint in order to set up a story? We are never told.

If I had never met KP, I would actually be more likely to believe this assessment. But although my personal interaction with Kevin consists of only a few hours back in October, I am skeptical to take Wojnarowski’s assertions at face value. As I said earlier, I’ve had the misfortune to meet people with ‘super-egos’ and it’s taken me far less than a couple of hours to discover megalomania in them. So, yes, I absolutely disagree with Wojnarowski’s assessment of KP’s character.

I am not conceited….I am convinced .

From Websters
ar·ro·gant
Pronunciation: \-gənt\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin arrogant-, arrogans, present participle of arrogare
Date: 14th century
Definition: exaggerating or disposed to exaggerate one’s own worth or importance often by an overbearing manner

I have watched and listened to KP many, many, many times. He doesn’t strike me a arrogant …..he has always struck me a merely a very smart ,confident, man. A man with a plan that he sticks to. Many times people who have a plan and stick to it are perceived as arrogant when they are just confident in their plan and their abilitiy to execute it!

KP is not conceited he is convinced

nice …outlook? I guess….

No one is innocent in this. Miles who did not even try to get back into ‘game shape’ as a Blazers The Blazers who wanted to rid the team of any fragment of ‘jail blazers’, and not so innocently showed Miles the only way out that was available. The league and players association – who had inexperienced, if not fraudulent doctors that told Darius Miles he SHOULD not play ever again.

This is not much difference than the Blazers buying Miles out. He takes a lot of cash and cap space, but his perceived poison is no longer in the locker room.

Now lets figure out what the Blazers can do to win a championship!!! Lets let the lawyers take care of it. The entire organization should be taking responsibility! “There is not ‘I’ in…” – well you know. That starts from the top.

The Blazers ran the email past the NBA front office before they sent it out. The NBA told them it was ok to send the email. There will be nothing punitive from the league.

The NBAPA has made a few statements regarding Darius, as they are expected to. However, they greatly desire the Blazers to regain that cap space. More money for players. The Blazers losing cap space benefits the owners, not the players.

I believe the Blazers will argue that the league- (and NBAPA-) appointed doctor was incorrect in his assessment of the injury and the league is liable to the Blazers (in the form of cap relief) for that misdiagnosis. Had the doctor not declared Darius "career-ending", the Blazers would have held onto his contract ala Raef LaFrenz – Darius’s contract would have been one of those valuable "expires in 2010" contracts, and insurance has been picking up the tab to this point. The Blazers will show they used all their options – trying to sign Darius, sending the email – to prevent the league from incurring that liability.

…in a league where revenue is shared, such as how the NBA divides up luxury tax revenue and tv revenue, it can be argued that a team that knowingly intiates a move that financially impacts another team negatively, taking it from revenue sharing to non-revenue sharing, would violate league by-laws (hence the email to "inform" them). Intent would not have to be proved because the Blazers would be asking for the lost cap space, and not damages, and can show they sent the email to "inform" teams before said team made the move. Memphis would have no claim that they were adversely harmed by not receiving the revenue because they were already receiving revenue-sharing by being under the cap.

What I’m saying is that right now the email looks bad. I remember when the Blazers traded for Aldridge and Roy, on draft night they were hammered for giving up too much to get those guys. Pritchard was called things like "rookie" and "outgunned" by the national pundits, then again when they got "nothing" for Zach Randolph. However, in retrospect you can look back and see how well they outmaneuvered several other teams, how they were ahead of the curve. They hired Tom Penn as assistant GM last year, a CBA expert and a lawyer himself. I think they have an ace up their sleeve, but they aren’t showing it yet. When we look back at this email a year from now, we may be saying what a smart move it was. Or I could be completely wrong and it could be just a bush league move. We’ll know for sure next season I think.

The rest of the article is just rantings of an obviously bitter/jealous/uninformed man.

I kind of dig it though, we’re the new ‘villians’ of the NBA. Too bad we’re patsies on the court.

Drama=readership.

His article is drama. He also took the whole “life is black and white because that’s all the public can digest” school of thought and rammed it into his article too.

He has his soundbites, his drama, his black and white, and he’s taken a subject that could be interesting and which a lot of conversation can be derived from, and turned it into garbage BS that will receive lots of “air time” because people will agree with it or become ticked by it and either is good for business.

His points are somewhat lost by the blare of sound that is emanating from his posterior.

Dave, I like your write up, but I think your break down is too kind and gives him too much benefit of the doubt. Still, I appreciate the rationality and the work you do.

What sucks about all this is that accusations makes great sound bites, and so those sound bites and not the facts are what people will walk away remembering. The media in this country has serious issues. Thanks for not being part of it. that’s what makes your site worth reading.

Now the fun part begins……How will Portland punish Memphis for this Griz’slap?
Revenge is a dish best served cold, and Vulcans never forget.

Send him message asking what he was thinking. I’ll never be reading another column of his personally.