Back in early December, we hit you with an update on where the Blazers were in terms of working Darius Miles back into the mix. Needless to say, most of the reaction from readers seemed to generally be that the Blazers should keep him as far away from their young nucleus as possible.
Today’s Portland Tribune has another update on D-Miles’ road back from microfracture surgery:
• As for Darius Miles, who is 14 months removed from his microfracture knee surgery, the message is more hazy.
“He still has a ways to go,” McMillan says. “So far, he’s mostly been doing one-on-one or two-on-two stuff.”
“He’s getting closer, but he still has to get in game shape,” Pritchard says. “He has to get at a specific weight, and where he can run up and down and not have any issues with the leg.”
“He’s progressing,” Jensen says. “It’s kind of how he feels and how his knee feels. Nobody knows except for Darius.”
Miles says he’s ready.
“It’s up to (team officials) now,” he says. “I can play. I can practice any day they practice. There’s no pain in the knee. I’m ready to go.”
Will he push the Blazers to get back in action?
“I’ve been doing that,” Miles says.
The article then goes on to talk about the real main issue here: How Darius’ return would affect the young, streaking Blazers:
Though everyone skips around the issue, part of the Blazers’ concern is, with the team playing so well, Miles’ return could disrupt the chemistry. He’s not exactly been a character guy in the past, and there are questions about how he will fit in.
It seems a long time ago when, in the 2006-07 season opener at Minnesota, Miles collected 32 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots. At 26, the 6-9 Miles – with three years and $26 million left on his contract – has no guaranteed spot in the rotation.
“I’m past that stage of developing guys, in a sense,” McMillan says. “Darius has to earn his way on the floor. We won’t just put him back out there. Everything will be based on how he plays in practice, and (if he) can beat out a 12th man as far as being on the active list. We’ll have to look at that.”
He’s a talent, no doubt, but if you’re a Blazers front office guy, you have to be scared to death about bringing him back into the mix. Is Miles going to be cool playing behind much younger guys? Is he going to be cool with severely limited minutes, especially at the start? Miles epitomized what was wrong with the old Blazers regime, and I probably wouldn’t let him anywhere near this team until next season. If the wheels suddenly fall off though, and the playoffs slip away, seeing how he meshes with the young guys towards the end of the season would be an option.
January 8th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
CHI-C says:
Was D. Miles ever a productive player or a good teammate to begin with? He wasn’t a very good player before this surgery and he is nothing more than a reserve now.
January 8th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
control says:
Blazers should have just said that his injury is unrecoverable, and tried to get insurance to pickup some of the tab. DMiles should just retire and hope people think of him as a poor man’s Johnny Bender. If the Blazers even let this fool near the court, or let him play again…they will not make the playoffs.
If Dmiles interacts with this young group, I bet he’d have them pushing drugs to kids on “NBA Cares” programs within 2 weeks.
January 8th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Myrie says:
How did this guys rep get soo bad? I mean….what has he actually done to warrant this? I have never been a big fan of his (mainly because he commited to SJU as a high school senior then opted for the NBA; SJU os my alma mater).
But I doubt this guy can turns things bad in Portland. The Blazers are strong in the front office; where it starts. Do any of you really believe Miles can corrupt Steve Blake, Jarret Jack, Brandon Roy, Travis Outlaw, Martell Webster, Channing Frye, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden?…..if so, your’re giving Miles too much credit. Those guys are already headstrong. If anything, they should be able to convert him collectively.
Portland should look to move him anyway. To a team looking to get younger and more athletic. I mean, dude is only 26yrs old. New Jersey might be a good look for him. Playing behind Vince and RJ should be aight for Miles. Portland shouldn’t even care what they get in return. Trade him for some interns or some Brooklyn italian cuties to be named later.
January 8th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Logan Light says:
Poor man’s Johnny Bender? Maybe, but if Miles can get his act together I think he can be seen as a poor man’s Lamar Odom. I think the skill set is there, and maybe now at 26 he’s a little more mature and can actually chill with all the off court mess.
I think Myrie has something here though. It’s now on Roy, Aldridge, and JJ to mold Miles. The hardest move here is going to be making sure the Miles will buy in… maybe they need to show him some clips of the Celtics.
January 8th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
e3z says:
I agree that you can’t mess with the chemistry of the team at this point…but you can put him back in the mix slowly…..Trading him for a solid role player would be ideal…. DMiles still wants to be the star, and thats not going to happen, not this year, and perhaps never. Players like Miles have the mentality that they are the man, and he’s never been the man….Ralph Sampson never understood his role and so he never reach his potential…DMiles has RalphSampsonidus
January 8th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Vertman says:
D. Miles has a huge game! Hopefully he’s grown up & is ready to be a team player & put everything he has left into it. I believe it would be best if he just moved on to another team, a new life, a fresh start.
January 8th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
IGP says:
I used to be a huge DMiles fan…back when he was on the Clippers I thought he was gonna be real good. I don’t understand why he got such a bad rep though. What did he do to earn it? I’m not doubting it, I just don’t know. I think that a fresh start is probably best. If they could get a young back up that wouldn’t be too bad.
January 8th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
MoxWestCoastRep says:
This just seems like a no-win situation in Portland for D. and for the Team. Might be worth another team taking a flyer on him and give up a couple of draft picks to see what he has left in the tank.
Of course he’s not going to be 2003 D Miles flying around smashing on cats with the clips, pounding his head band. Those boys were bad with Maggette and Q and them. But I agree he could be a serviceable role player and give a team quality tick.
As for the character issues its amazing how humbling an injury like this can be and hopefully he has grown up a little and realizes he needs to work hard now.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:38 am
QQ says:
I thought Johhny Bender was a poor man’s Darius Miles?
Blazers should trade DMiles(if there are any takers left), or just let him go. Portland now is way too good to be messed up by just a single player.
January 9th, 2008 at 6:27 am
Who says:
I think he’ll fit in seemlessly …. a lot of Miles rep has been undeserved and I think this injury and time away from the game has really helped his perspective on life and the NBA. He’s going to be a very good player for Portland if his athleticism is still in tact.
January 15th, 2008 at 8:31 am
beef-o-matic says:
Anyone remember the bad rep Stackhouse had as not being a team player, being disruptive etc etc. What happened with Stack? Time off with injury, age & maturity, leadership of a coach & mentor (Avery Johnson)
It’s nice to have a guy on the pine with big play attitude (refer to Stacks game winning 3 the other night, against the Clips), because there’ll be times when it’ll be needed to lift the spirits of the younger, less experienced brigade. Make no mistake, D-Miles still has plenty of maturing to do. I think he’s aware everybody has written him off, what better motivator to achieve.
February 12th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Shady says:
wtf…i’m tired of all these d miles bashers and shit…this dude is pretty damn good,he had pretty good stats before the injury and all i hear is…*he’s gonna mess up the mix and shit…shut the fuck up with that ish,just because he had got caught with weed or better yet smoke the shit,doesn’t mean he’s a cancer like most of you idiots think he is…there are many professional athletes that get caught up in stuff like that,so don’t judge too soon cause of a few run ins with the cops