That might not sit well with Nate, who gives his players rest but ultimately demands hard work from them. And he is loyal to the players that demonstrated their abilities before – maybe to a fault, but he doesn’t lightly go back on promises he gave in exit interviews that the starting spot was Steve’s or Nico’s to lose.

As for the “I don’t think I’m respected as a player”, Miller already said that before coming to the Blazers or and again before any games were played, so it’s not like this was a new development. And he likely is right. People don’t put him in the same conversation with players like Nash, Davis, Kidd, Arenas who also haven’t won a title.

As for the discussion who told what to whom when, that is impossible to know for people who weren’t there. Remember the back and forth in the “did Bayless and Oden work out together”? The Millsap signing? It’s not known until now if and how long Nate was involved in talks with the player after his handlers first claimed it and then it was denied towards the press in Utah.

I would guess so, but I’m guessing someone else knows for sure. If that’s the case, remaining consistent is an explanation for releasing them again this year, as opposed to assuming that McMillan necessarily “felt that Miller needed the serious kick in the pants.”

Should he change that policy to preserve the ego of the new player who didn’t put in the work that everyone else did?

Once the season gets started, and he gets the starting PG job (inevitable, I don’t know what he’s even worried about), and the Blazers start racking up W’s everything will be just fine. People just need something to talk about, and unfortunately for Andre Miller, without important (games that count) basketball games being played and the fact that he is the new acquisition that will supposedly get us over the hump, he is the subject right now.

Since coming to Portland, and rightly so given the situation he inherited, Nate has stressed the “Sarge” element of his coaching style – the team didn’t have any veteran leadership to speak of, and with a bunch of bad apples/young guys, Nate had to take even more of a leadership/disciplinarian role than normal. You add a vet like Miller to the mix who has been a solid pro through the course of his career, and there will be some rocky patches if Nate tries to treat him like a 20 year old rookie who needs to prove himself in the NBA. I think we’ll see less and less of the “Sarge” as the team ages, particularly Brandon as the leader of the squad, and there isn’t as much of a need for Nate to be so tight at the helm. I do agree with Miller that he should be the starter, and now. You don’t bring a player like that in to be a backup, especially to Steve Blake (who I like, but let’s face facts – poll the coaches/GMs across the league on who the starter should be and I’d be surprised to see more than 3 total who vote for Blake). Nate is loyal to the guys he trusts, and that’s a good thing, but Andre (and for that matter Greg, although the GO/Pryz competition talk has quitted down) need to be in the starting 5. I’m just hoping Nate adjusts his style a bit this year to fit the new and improving personnel.

I’m glad to be watching this one from a distance – I really hope it works out better for you guys than it did for the Bulls. You guys are fortunate to have your version of “the guy” already extended and all, and of course winning smooths over a lot of internal issues. Still, it could get interesting if Andre doesn’t settle in and things aren’t going well on the court.

… basically digging through the trash can to get the test results. I was happy to get the news in August when nothing else was happening. But now that I know how the results were obtained, I’m actually pretty pissed at Quick.

I rather like his writing in general. But this is right up there with the “peaking through the blinds” incident during the scouting games a few years back. Both of these incidents are, in my opinion, rather disgraceful.

Makes me glad that I have another option here at BEdge. Just another reason to generally ignore OLive.

Message to Quick, Canzano, and all the rest of the media fighting to keep their jobs: you’re not endearing yourselves to readers like me with antics like this. Quite the opposite. Please stop.

If we want to be able to trade for talent in this league then we need to be watching how the incoming blazers are treated. If someone has demonstrated their ability in the league then you don’t bring them in and treat them like a rookie. It is as simple as that.

Sounds like Nate needs to be reigned in a little bit…maybe Miller is whining a little bit but the fact is Miller is far more established than Blake.

but how long till Miller gets called a team cancer?

Hmmm.

I guess I can understand where Andre’s coming from. He’s been a top tier point guard and he’s proud of his accomplishments. I personally don’t think that this is the correct way to handle the issue, but he’s right to a point.

I don’t really have a reaction to this. Everyone is trying to figure this season out. They will clash for a little bit, but a nice chemistry will start to come together in December and January.

It’s all good.

Update (4:44PM): There is some discussion in the comments regarding exactly how the conditioning results were obtained. Bottom line: it’s Nate’s conditioning test and Nate’s results. The responsibility to keep those results private falls to him. If they leaked out intentionally or not it’s still his responsibility. His players — especially a guy like Andre Miller — are going to turn to him for an explanation about how and why they are public.

And also, to be crystal clear, I’m not personally killing Nate for these conditioning results becoming public. It’s not the end of the world. Indeed, when it happened, it merited only a small mention at the bottom of my report for that day. But of all the grievances that Andre aired, that’s the one that makes the most sense. Playing time? Nothing is guaranteed. Starting? Nothing is guaranteed. Privacy regarding potentially embarrassing conditioning results? I think it’s fair for a player — especially a player in Andre’s position, on a new team, working to fit in — to assume he would have that.

discontented grumbling about starting may indeed cause a quandry with on-court chemistry in the backcourt.

Honestly, it’d be best for the ballclub if Joel Przybilla and Steve Blake played the first 6 minutes of the 1st and 3rd quarters along with the first 4 minutes of the 2nd and 4th quarters, while Greg Oden and Miller played the last 6 minutes of the 1st and 3rd quarters along with the last 8 minutes of the 2nd and 4th quarters. That’s 20 minutes apiece for Przybilla and Blake, as well as 28 minutes apiece for Oden and Miller.

Insofar as Miller is very experienced at initiating the pick-and-roll and creating opportunities for tremendously talented pivotmen such as Oden on the low block, his inability to spread the offense or play off the ball might make it a strenuous challenge for him and Brandon Roy to mesh together as teammates.

So, Miller is a self-interested, obtuse jackass if he doesn’t get that it’s not about who starts games, but rather who finishes them. For someone with such a distinguished BBIQ on the court, I’d presume his ego wouldn’t conflict with common sense and the desire to accomplish a universal goal among NBA players (i.e., winning a championship). Alas, hubris is the downfall of many.

Andre’s strengths are running the offense efficiently and making the right choices. his weakness is speed and long range shooting.

He usually fits a fast young team with some good shooters, they negate his weaknesses while he negates their penchant for mistakes.

A smart ball handling inside scoring team he isn’t as good for, he’s still a dang good PG, but he just doesn’t fit them well.

That said you start your best players, you tweak the lineup to fit the players after the tip. No reason he can’t play more with a line he fits well with during the game. Like Nate said it is less important who starts than who finishes, to the result of the game. To the players starting or being a reserve means a lot, being a reserve means the other guy is better than you. Start Andre, play Blake where he fits and Andre where he fits.

That said if it is about the conditioning then go for it, you can’t let a younger team see veterans coming in and getting away with stuff they wouldn’t. But Andre is a gamer, he’ll be fine.

when he says others failed and they had their results fixed, he means that his time was better then some other players, but after the positional adjustment (a ‘fix’), they were passing. I believe he beat Outlaw to be specific.

I’m sure this will blow over fast, as he will most likey be the starter anyway.

How do we know the quotes are accurate? How do we know the context of his statements, if the statements are accurate? Why should we choose to take Marc Spears’ word for anything? He’s a journalist and he makes his living selling his words. He wouldn’t be the first journalist to manufacture angst in order to sell a story. And anyway, do we want Andre to come here and be anxious to spend his time on the end of the bench, or on the floor among the cameramen? And on that subject, maybe he sits on the floor so that he can stretch out. He’s not the only player who does that. Give the poor guy a little time before he’s trashed. Jeez.

And he’ll be fine. This is all pre-season story line hunting melodrama. Once the real games start everything will work itself out.

Paraphrased, “if I knew I wasn’t going to start I wouldn’t have come here.” After all the ongoing work that has been done to build a harmonious team environment, we end up with a guy like this. We were simply too anxious and desperate to sign a good free agent with money that was burning a hole in our pocket, that KP and Nate (especially Nate it sounds like) let Miller suck them in during that dinner interview.

I’d like to send him packing, but I don’t know how easy that would be and we absolutely are in need of a second PG to alternate with Blake (Bayless certainly isn’t the answer——at least for this year).

So I guess my only realistic hope regarding this situation is that Nate sticks to his guns lineup-wise and does whatever he was going to do before he heard any of this crap pouring forth from Miller. And I’ll hope for the best from there.

Yep, it seems to be consensus: Miller is a better PG than Blake. Remember though that Bonzi, J.R. Rider and Rasheed were also each better than competitors to their respective positions. Didn’t we learn then that it takes more than talent alone to build a good team? Hope that lesson hasn’t been forgotten.

 It is well known, even by Andre himself, that Roy does not play off the ball well compared to his on ball prowess. Brandon Roy is best paired with a three point threat such as Blake to create spacing in the backcourt, this is also found in Batum/Webster/Rudy as the three and LaMarcus Aldridge as a perceived threat from mid range. Pairing him with Andre would not only limit his offensive oppurtunities with regards to scoring points but his ability to distribute to viable offensive threats.

Andre would also be hugely effective as the main ball handler in the second unit. Paired with shooters such as Rudy, Webster and to some extent Travis Outlaw he would create defensive nightmares off the dribble, penetrating for lay-ups, passing for outside shots or dumping to a waiting center.

Andre fits best in the second unit at the start of games where his potential is maximised. To end games Roy is in a much greater need for an extra initiator on offense to set up plays and produce points to prevent his total exhaustion. This is when the two should be combined, not throughout the game.

Roy is the best player we have on-ball, do not take that away from him for the purpose of pleasing a veteran point guard uncapable of understanding the concept of roles.

Doesn’t mean it’s a bad ingredient per say, it just may not be the right ingredient for the particular cake you’re baking.

For a guy who has worked hard to maintain his privacy over the years, he is probably feeling a little bit exposed right about now.

Perhaps he should have maintained his privacy a bit better by keeping his mouth shut. He clams up around the local press but talks to Yahoo.

If it’s a big deal, it will stay that way. If it’s not, we’ll have forgotten about it.

That said, it’s not like there’s much else new to talk about. And it is an interesting story.

I’m already tired of his act. Piss and moan all you want. He has never won anything that deserves a gauranteed spot. Someone said “Steve Nash” wouldn’t have to put up with this. Well, Steve Nash is a two time MVP. Just because you have thrown a few assists around doesn’t make you a gauranteed starter on every team. Each team has different dynamics and if your ego gets in the way then you don’t fit.

The problem is he isn’t the answer we were looking for at point guard he is just the opposite of Blake. One can’t take his man off the dribble and the other can’t extend the defense with his jumper. We need someone who can do both. So either hit a jumper past 15 feet or shut up.

“It’s just a business.”

CTC, baby.

If Andre is that good and can help us win, then him and Broy need to learn how to play together. The best players need to play the most minutes. And great players can adapt to win.

If we are thinking that they should only play in the 4th during crunch time, then why on earth would we expect them to have chemistry then if they can’t at the beginning of the game?

For any team to get over the hurdle, there will be rough spots and the process should be given some time.

If we all seriously think this team can win a title without Andre, and any other additions, then we should stop clamoring for trades, free agents, etc…

If we think they need to add a few ingredients, then let it play out…

It’s the freaking preseason.

I’m gonna put a wager that Miller will be voted Co-Captain by game 1!!!!

as printing “something crazy in the papers”? Does Andre now have to find out who Marc Spears is?

“If I was told right out when I had my meetings that I would be a backup, then I wouldn’t have come here,” Miller told Yahoo! Sports this week..

I didn’t want Miller in the first place, but knowing that he wouldn’t come here if he had to come off of the bench makes him even less attractive. Seems like he’s saying his status as “a starter” is more important than his contribution to the team. It’s one thing to say, “I want to start.” It’s another to say, “If I am not a stater, I don’t wanna play anymore.” If I were a coach and I had a player tell me that, he would be off of the team.

His inability to hit an outside shot troubles me. Miller and Roy’s success as a backcourt tandem may very well rely on the small forward playing with them. I think they will find a rythym together, but I suspect it might take more than 3 preseason games to do so. Starting Blake is the smart move until Roy and Miller mesh.

With that said, I fully expect Miller to be a starter at some point this season. He is a better player than Blake. But until his talent outweighs Blake’s fit with the starters, it will be Blake spreading the floor for LMA and Roy…

“I know I didn’t make it,” Miller said. “And if I didn’t make it, there were probably two to four other guys that didn’t make it. And afterward, those guys came to me and told me that their times were fixed.”

If I were McMillan, this comment would alarm me even more than the one about starting. What’s Miller saying? That McMillan is involved in a conspiracy against him? That doesn’t sound like McMillan at all. If he were playing for Don Nelson or Brown or someone… maybe that makes sense, but McMillan is not crafty like that…. A player that thinks you would conspire to try to manipulate you is not a player you want to have to deal with.

I’m not saying Spears made up any of the quotes, I just have a feeling they might have been taken out of context because the story came out after Miller started a game and I have a hard time believing that Miller would go to Spears before he went to McMillan.

     A. No matter how good Miller is or plays, he may not fit with our
players or team.
B. He’s a well known commodity in the NBA and he controls the ball
a lot. Back downs, post-ups, pick and rolls. There is a reason why BRoy
has fit well with Blake the last couple of years, BRoy is a great player with
the ball in his hands. He breaks down his man or initiates the pick & roll,
then scores or creates a shot for his teammates. We’ve all seen how he
operates. I know he’s not Jordan, but the pairing is similiar to the Jordan/Paxson
type of backcourt.
C. Our team has had a wonderful chemistry the last couple of years with young
guys who love playing and hanging out with each other. Also the roles and minutes
were accepted because of that youth and growing together. It’s called CHEMISTRY !
It cannot be underestimated.
D. Andre Miller is a established vet, with self admitted ego issues (I’m under appriciated). Unfortunately, the Blazer brass didn’t consider CHEMISTRY in their
signing of Miller Time and therein have opened the door for a possible cancer in
the locker room on great young team.
      Andre Miller may start, he may not start, he might not start but still play more minutes than Blake, but if he dosen’t allow Brandon Roy (Our All-Star & Captain)
to play to his ceiling, will it really help the Blazers go to the Championship level ?

the season has not even started, therefore nobody is the starter yet… So why would Miller even be complaining?

No need to get all riled up because a good player wants to be the starter on a team that’s weak at his position.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/10/trail_blazers_andre_miller_and.html

Are you and coach McMillan on the same page?

"Yeah we are. As long as I’m here practicing and working hard, I feel that I can contribute to the team. It’s his job (and) I can’t control where I fit into that situation. So I’m not going to speak on that. I’m going to continue to work hard, I’m going to continue to be a team player and whether it’s five minutes or 25 minutes, I’m going to be out to contribute. And I think he knows, understands me as a veteran. I’m not going to get caught up in the situation. (This was) something by me having my say."