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Darius Miles came to Portland after blowing chances with the Clippers and Cavs, wearing out his welcome in both places.  The Blazer regime of the time saw the talent and were willing to overlook the flaws and gave the kid a chance.  He was a third pick in the 2000 draft for a reason, and his talent was phenomenal.  But Darius was a head case.  He would come out and wow you with incredible athleticism then go through the motions for weeks at a time.  He would show flashes of brilliance but was unwilling to take coaching.  He unleashed a tirade at then coach Maurice Cheeks for criticism during practice, including the N word and stating that he had no reason to play hard since Cheeks was going to be fired anyways.  As far as I can remember or find, his brushes with the law were generally being in the wrong place with the wrong people, not he himself doing the crimes.  The problem with Miles is that he has never appeared to respect authority or been willing to work consistently hard.  In the contract year he looked great, and thats why the Blazers signed him.  Afterwords, he didn't have the respect for the game or those paying his check to put out a serious effort on a day to day basis.  He had one game against the Nuggets where he showed what he could have been.  He scored 48 points and was unstoppable in every phase of the game.  Shortly after that, he was injured and missed the next two years. 

 So now, he tried and did not succeed in making the Celtics roster.  There are other teams showing interest, and who can blame them?  If they remember his talent, of course they want to see how much of it is left.  The question is, would Portland "badmouth" him around the league as an anonymous GM has accused?  They of course have a financial incentive to see him not play, but would they try to undercut him for just this reason?  KP and McMillan are determined to see the Blazers win the right way, gossipping and rumor mongering in NBA backrooms is not a good way to model that new team concept.  But if they are asked, they have an obligation to be straight, don't they?  If they are asked "What happened in that blowup between Miles and Cheeks", don't they have to answer?  Darius Miles was let go because of the assessment of an independent NBA doctor.  This was not a Blazers employee, it was an NBA appointed professional medical opinion.  To come back from this injury that was ruled independently as career ending would be amazing and impressive.  It would hurt the Blazers financially, but not in a terminal way.  His contract comes off the books in 2010 anyways, and the Blazers will still have lots of space.  I guess what I must ask, is would it be worth it to undercut someone mostly for spite, because that is what this would be.  I don't believe that this "Anonymous GM" is telling the whole truth.

 If Miles wants back in the NBA and a chance does not come up this year, go to Europe.  Play the game and show the work ethic to make yourself worth the risk.  I as a Blazers fan don't hate Darius anymore than I hate Z Bo or Rasheed.  They are all young men trying to deal with the instant stardom and wealth that would be hard for any of us to deal with gracefully.  They have the pressures of people back home wanting to rise with them, fans obsessing over them, and a sudden freedom they don't know how to handle.  I wish nothing but the best for Darius Miles though he really hurt this team and these fans who believed in him and gave him a chance.  I hope he has learned something from the last 8 years and that he appreciates the opportunity he has been given.  I also hope that if a team signshim, they really sign him and are not just trying to weaken Portland.  It would be sad to see his attempt at a comeback reduced to pathetic gamesmanship by a rival GM.