Blazers’ magic number for cap turmoil: 2

[Lupe]

Until now, Portland Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard had a secret it appears most of the NBA hadn’t taken the time to discover for itself: Darius Miles is on the brink of blowing up the Blazers’ salary-cap space.

Most of the NBA believed Miles still was eight regular-season games away from devastating the Blazers’ salary cap, but Yahoo! Sports learned on Wednesday that Miles is just two games away.

Teams had been under the impression that the league’s collective bargaining agreement demanded that Miles play 10 regular-season or postseason games for the $18 million – which is split evenly between this and next season – to return to the Blazers’ payroll.


All along, the Blazers knew exactly that the preseason games counted, but a league official said Wednesday night, “He wanted to keep it quiet.”


Apparently, no team had called the league for clarification on the rule that states the season is constituted by the “first day of training camp and ending immediately after the last game of the NBA Finals.”

The league office confirmed to Yahoo! Sports that the six preseason games that Miles played for the Boston Celtics counts toward the 10. Before the Memphis Grizzlies waived him on Tuesday night to avoid guaranteeing his contract for the rest of the season, Miles played two regular-season games that pushed him to eight total.

Any team in the NBA simply can sign Miles to a 10-day contract, play him twice and punch out one of the summer’s top free-agent destinations. The Blazers are a prime destination for free agents, and the cap space also made them a fierce competitor for sign-and-trade deals. If Miles returns to the salary cap, he also will push Portland into the luxury tax. That means every team under the tax would benefit with about $250,000 of revenue sharing from Portland.

Most NBA executives are reveling in the fact that clogging the Portland cap could be a way to slow the rapid rise of the franchise. Beyond that, there is a level of jealousy over the way that Portland’s owner, Paul Allen, buys up draft picks from poorer teams for his GM to use.

All in all, league executives have been rooting hard for Miles to play those 10 games after he missed two years with a knee injury that Portland and league doctors declared was career-ending.

“Someone is going to scoop him up and play him those two games now,” one Eastern Conference executive said when told the news on Wednesday night. “Portland is screwed.”

One West GM thinks the Denver Nuggets, who moved under the luxury tax threshold on Wednesday, will be motivated to sign Miles.

Another GM wondered whether the Blazers might pick Miles off waivers and just keep him on the bench, although it’s unlikely the NBA would allow that. Portland also has been collecting insurance money on Miles, and it just seems too unlikely that Allen and Pritchard would go to such an extreme. Nevertheless, the Blazers have an incredible amount to lose here.

When reached on Wednesday night, Jeff Weschler, Miles’ agent, said he suspected the rule clarification might be true but had yet to get a confirmation from the NBA.

“We’re not focused on that,” he said. “Our focus is on Darius getting back and playing ball again. Our focus is not trying to hurt the Blazers.”

[Len B]

Owned.

[Kuzzy Powers]

Clearly someone is going to use Miles as a pawn and sign him just to screw the Blazers and help themselves. Justifiably so.

[mfbmike]

didnt they release him before teh 10 games? confused.

justifiably so bob?

come on dude, all Kevin Pritchard has done is play other GM's for idiots and turned the jailblazers of old into a solid young team that will contend for years to come.

[Lupe]

didnt they release him before teh 10 games? confused.

justifiably so bob?

come on dude, all Kevin Pritchard has done is play other GM's for idiots and turned the jailblazers of old into a solid young team that will contend for years to come.

did you read it?

Most of the NBA believed Miles still was eight regular-season games away from devastating the Blazers’ salary cap, but Yahoo! Sports learned on Wednesday that Miles is just two games away.

Teams had been under the impression that the league’s collective bargaining agreement demanded that Miles play 10 regular-season or postseason games for the $18 million – which is split evenly between this and next season – to return to the Blazers’ payroll.


All along, the Blazers knew exactly that the preseason games counted, but a league official said Wednesday night, “He wanted to keep it quiet.”



Pre-Season games count and I think he played 6 of them for boston 2 regular season games for memphis and he's now 2 games away

[Kuzzy Powers]

didnt they release him before teh 10 games? confused.

justifiably so bob?

come on dude, all Kevin Pritchard has done is play other GM's for idiots and turned the jailblazers of old into a solid young team that will contend for years to come.

Prtichard has done a phenomenal job, no question.

But its a cut-throat league, if im a GM im signing Miles to a 10-day contract JUST to fuck the Blazers.

[SuperNova854]

Lupe hee never played any regular seaosn games cuz he has to sit out 10 games with a suspension

[mfbmike]

Prtichard has done a phenomenal job, no question.

But its a cut-throat league, if im a GM im signing Miles to a 10-day contract JUST to fuck the Blazers.

Oh yeah, I'm sure someone will just to get them out of the free agent race this year. That's why they need to trade Lafrentz and perhaps outlaw to someone with a multi year contract before the trade. (i.e. Gerald Wallace, Hinrich, or something.)

I could see a division rival (Jazz,Nuggets) doing this to hurt them in the future.

[mfbmike]

The Portland Trail Blazers have issued an unusual warning to rival NBA teams who are thinking about hiring their former player, Darius Miles: Put Miles on the court, say the Blazers, and we may sue you. "The Portland Trail Blazers will take all necessary steps to safeguard its rights, including, without limitation, litigation,'' wrote Blazers president Larry Miller in an e-mail addressed late Thursday night to all NBA team presidents and general managers. SI.com was provided access to the memo by an NBA team executive. Miles underwent microfracture surgery to repair his right knee as a member of the Trail Blazers in November 2006. He was released by Portland last April after his injury was judged to be "career-ending'' by an independent medical examiner appointed by the NBA and the players union. If Miles were to be picked up by an NBA team and play in two more NBA games, his original $9 million salary for this season as well as next season would be reinstated to Portland's official payroll, pushing the Blazers over the luxury tax threshold this season -- costing them millions of dollars -- while hurting their chances to sign a major free agent this summer.

SI.com

LOLOLOL

[Kuzzy Powers]

I dont see how they even have a case. Anyone has the right to give Miles a shot. No way to prove its just to screw the Blazers.

[Lupe]

Lupe hee never played any regular seaosn games cuz he has to sit out 10 games with a suspension

your wrong. He played 2 regular season games for memphis dumb ass. He played in 6 Pre-Season games and 2 regular season games. He did sit out 10 games when he was a free agent when boston released him

[Lupe]

The Portland Trail Blazers’ threat to possibly sue any team that signs free-agent forward Darius Miles has created a firestorm of reaction around the league.

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert emailed Blazers president Larry Miller to say he took exception with Portland’s threat.

Yahoo! Sports obtained Gilbert’s email because it was carboned to the rest of the league’s owners and executives.

“With all due respect…although the Cleveland Cavaliers have no interest in signing Darius Miles and will not be signing Darius Miles,” Gilbert wrote, “I find your email quite peculiar from two standpoints:

“1. It’s dead wrong. I believe that all 30 NBA teams were and are fully aware of the terms and provisions of the collective bargaining agreement as to which all teams and the NBA are a party to, including the Portland Trailblazers.

“2. Are legal threats through a mass email the best way to circumvent the known potential consequences that could result from the Trailblazers decisions and actions they took with respect to Darius Miles?

“I fully understand the frustration you and your team’s ownership must be feeling in regards to this situation, but a preemptive threat of ‘litigation’ directed at all of your partners through a group email does not sit well with me and seems to be incongruent with the spirit of keeping a ‘fiduciary duty’ and good ‘partner-like duty’ to your ‘NBA joint venturers.’

“I would think there has got to be a better tactic than this one.”

[IamMedellin]

LMFAO....who the fuck signed him to that contract!?

[LC AAU]

This kid use to be the shit when he was drafted.

[Sean]

Players Union is taking action against the Blazers