Geez, Berger: He can hear for Miles and Miles and Miles ...
Updated Jan. 16
A lot of Anderson Varejao haters and Portland Trail Blazer lovers are out for blood this week ...
From: Archskier
You're a knucklehead. The other options you describe have nothing to do with this. If those teams have the right to sign Miles, the Blazers have the right to protect their interests. You are a hack.
As the great philosopher Edith Bunker used to say, "Oh, Archie." I may be a knucklehead, but I was taking issue as much with the rules that allow such nonsense as with the Blazers themselves.
From: Mike J.
Poor Miles. He is getting paid $9 million a year to do nothing. You act like the Blazers are preventing him from earning a living.
Miles gets his money whether it counts against the Blazers' cap or not. That is a distinction that a lot of people don't understand. He gets paid regardless. Most, if not all, contracts are insured so that the financial hit against the team is minimized if the player suffers a career-ending injury. The issue is whether the money should count against the Blazers' cap. If Miles is healthy and playing for another team, then clearly it should.
From: Joe
You obviously don't understand the crux of the issue. If Miles is healthy enough to legitimately help an NBA team, then the Blazers have no problem. They do have a problem with another team signing Miles for the sole purpose of harming the Blazers. Also, can you provide evidence that all 29 GMs were appalled by the Blazers' e-mail as you said? Because I have only heard about two responses: one negative response from Cleveland's GM and one response in support of Portland by Mark Cuban.
Admittedly, I did not converse with each and every GM and owner on this topic. But I don't think it is a stretch to say they were taken aback to learn that they'd be subject to a lawsuit from one of their business partners simply for signing a player. The problem with your argument is this: Who decides what the Grizzlies' intentions were -- or what any other team's intentions were, for that matter -- when they signed Miles? If the Blazers really wanted to pursue it, there would have to be depositions under oath and someone would have to testify that the Grizzlies don't give a rat's turd about Miles and that they were just trying to stick it to Portland. Very difficult case to make.
From: Victor
Do you think this three-way deal will actually get done with Felton involved? I do not know if you care about Fantasy, but if Felton gets moved he becomes almost useless behind Kidd, Terry, Barea. Thank you!
People tell me I'm living in a fantasy world all the time, so I guess I'd better start caring about it. The three-team trade with Felton going to Dallas isn't going to happen while D.J. Augustin is hurt. I do think Felton's getting traded, though not necessarily in the same deal that was agreed to with Dallas and OKC.
From: Lawrence P.
Hi. Seems like some of this stuff is not based in reality. How could the Celtics ever get Mike Miller? What contracts do they have so that it would work under the salary cap? Thanks.
Since Boston has so much money tied up in the Big Three, they would probably need a third team to facilitate such a deal. Miller makes $9 million. But they do have Sam Cassell and his $1.3 million, partially guaranteed contract that could be useful in such a deal.
From: Alok T.
How dare you mention Anderson Varejao in the same breath as Kobe Bryant? Blasphemy.
Guilty as charged.
From: Chris G.
Tell me quick, dude. Do the Raptors trade Bosh and get a shooting guard? His game is going downhill. What have you heard? I'm a huge Raptors fan. What do you know? Can you tell me?
Ohhhh, all right. I disagree with your assessment that Bosh's game is going downhill. He is going to be in huge demand when he opts out in two summers. The guy who is getting traded on that team, if Bryan Colangelo has anything to say about it, is Jermaine O'Neal. Look at how well Bargnani has played with J.O. hurt. Problem is two-fold: O'Neal has $23 million coming to him next season, and nobody will even think about trading for him until he proves he's completely healthy. I wouldn't hold your breath, unless you're a painted turtle. They can hold their breath for months.
From: Andy D.
Are you kidding me? You write that in 2009, Kobe, Boozer, and VAREJAO? I suggest you live in the Cleveland area and watch old Andy play on a nightly basis. He's a scrub and someone foolish enough to overpay him will make me a happy Cavaliers fan because I won't have to watch him fall over and be out of position on a daily basis. To put him in Boozer's or Kobe's class is just horrible ... or as Charles Barkley says, 'Thas jess trrrrible.' How about writing a better article next time.
I used to live in the Cleveland area during the Shawn Kemp administration. So I know a stiff when I see one. You may or may not like Andy as a player, and that's fine. I'm a little underwhelmed by him myself. The only point I was trying to make is that it's not just Kobe and Boozer next summer and LeBron, Bosh and Wade the following summer who will be free agents. There are others, like Yao Ming, Amare Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitzki, Tyson Chandler, Manu Ginobili and Varejao. But now I've made you even angrier. Sorry 'bout that.
