An open letter to the eastern conference

I think everything is going to work out.

Sophia

is giving him way too much credit here. Besides if Ainge was the only other GM who knew that the preseason counted not named KP, why would Darius have received a DNP-Coaches Decision during one of the preseason games?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=281017002

he is now just a pawn in a larger scheme.

K#be Bryant lands awkwardly after a dunk and finds out that he needs season ending knee surgery. Doctors say he’ll never be the same player as before the injury but he’ll still be able to hoist up jumpers and make it from one end of the court to the other.

This puts the Lakers in a lose-lose situation. They’ve got [an estimated] $21 million tied up for the next 3 years in K#be but now he’s little more than a one-tool player. They decide to cut their losses and persue a medical retirement. Without a doubt, K#be is no longer fit to contribute at the caliber of which he signed his original contract. An outside doctor confirms this, and grants the team financial leniency.

You’re Kevin Pritchard and you’re in charge of one of the best teams in basketball at this point in time. You’ve got young talent locked up, you’ve got a balanced roster with an average age in the mid-20’s, but you realize you play in the ultra-competitive Western Conference and an extra $21 million in LA might as well be a blank check for the best available player [i.e. Lebron James]. K#be, being a competitor, makes a valiant effort to return to his old NBA form, although his physical limitations prevent him from ever truly showing the aspects of his game that made him famous, he is able to provide veteran leadership as a 14th or 15th man…

What would you do?

1.) Waive Shavlik, sign K#be, and mail Jerry Buss/Phil Jackson a “Better Luck Next Year” card [essentially sticking them with a $21 million handicap]…

OR

2.) Stay on the sidelines and worry about your own team, essentially acknowledging that anyone in their situation would want/need the cap relief.

If you’re me, and it’s the L@kers, I’d be incredibly upset if Kevin Pritchard didn’t make every effort in his power to stick it to ‘em. Granted, this is the National Basketball Association and not the National Salary Cap and Litigation Association, but at the same time, the team who offered the player the contract [whether it was D-Miles and the $9 mil or K#be and the $21 mil] should be held accountable for the decision to sign that player. We don’t shed tears for the Wizards and their unfortunate decision to sign Arenas to a massive contract after a couple knee surgeries… We don’t cry for the Knicks, who should be able to Medically Retire Stephon Marbury thanks to his on-going bout with criminal insanity…

My point is that the Miles’ situation, worse case scenario, is a speed bump, not a dead-end. It sets a dangerous precendent if teams are allowed to medically retire a player who can still compete at the NBA level, waive that player, and then threaten a lawsuit when another team tries to sign that guy.

I’m hoping as much as the next guy that Miles doesn’t play in two more games, but I also realize that with as much young talent as we have, it’s very likely that the Blazers won’t begin competing for championships until after Miles’ contract would’ve naturally come off the books. By freeing up his $9 million, this process is likely to speed up, but that’s not to say it wouldn’t have naturally happened in the first place…