Man, this latest legal chapter is surreal: the Blazers really tried to claim Miles off waivers? While I am surprised that the team has the cojones to do this, I think this news helps further the team's position put forward last Friday: "we will do anything to protect our team." Larry Miller's memo certainly makes more sense now, given the context in which it was sent. The waiver claim was denied and the team felt like it had absolutely no other options. It's still strange but it is certainly consistent.
Here's my question: why didn't KP and Larry Miller tell us this news on Friday? There was a big teleconference for Larry, an interview on John Canzano's radio show, and a stand up question and answer session with KP at practice (video here). As Norsktroll pointed out in the comments, Miller responds to a Canzano question about whether they would claim Darius on waivers by saying "no, we wouldn't do that" even though the team had already tried to do exactly that.
Many of you commented to me that Kevin Pritchard looked uncomfortable or unhappy during the video linked above. It was an incredibly tough position for KP to be in at that time: he couldn't be sure that someone would sign Darius (although rumors were strong that Memphis, and a line of other teams, planned to) and he knew that the team's attempt to claim Darius had been denied by the league. He also knew none of the media present had heard that news yet. He was given an opportunity to make the best possible case for his team's interests. Did he succeed?
Today's poll: if the memo was part of a plan to protect the team's interests and build an ongoing legal case, would explaining the plan (including the failed waiver claim) have helped the team's case in the media and furthered support for their legal claims?
I think there would have been some real advantages to "coming clean" on Friday. Maybe you disagree?
-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)