And YES we should take a "risk" on him since he's stated so much in an article recently. It's somewhere on the thread you can't find.
The article is question is an
Ian Thomsen piece for SI. The original thread can be found
here.
He basically said he's ready to play, he doesn't understand what he ever did to get such a bad rep...
See, I consider Miles's "It's funny, I don't know how I went from that side to this side." remarks another red flag... He's either being disingenuous or - worse - remains as selfish and self-involved as ever. Skipping practice or showing up too hung over to work or calling your coach a n****r at a tape session will, yes, hurt your reputation. And it bears mentioning that Cheeks, for all his failings, is as well-liked as Rivers around the league. He isn't P.J. Carlesimo.
The confrontation flared when Cheeks continued a line of criticism directed at Miles during the team's review of Wednesday's game with Dallas. The argument escalated when neither party would back down, and accounts of the argument include Miles telling Cheeks he was going to be fired, and when Cheeks told Miles to leave, Miles said that Cheeks would have to call the police to make him leave the building.
The situation continued when Cheeks dismissed the team and began leaving toward general manager John Nash's office, when Miles chided him with the comment, "That's right, run to your daddy." When Cheeks did go to Nash's office, Miles burst in, and another argument ensued...
Cheeks admitted that he is partly to blame for the confrontation because at the beginning of the film session his tone toward Miles was stronger than normal, and from past conflicts with Miles, he knew the player didn't handle criticism well.
There's a reason L.A. first dealt him, that Cleveland felt he couldn't co-exist with Lebron James, and that Portland wouldn't allow him to rehab at the Blazers' facilities while his teammates were there.
...he's healthy but not in NBA shape...
As for that, I know reports out of Boston are that Miles has made impressive progress, but it may be worth looking at today's
Oregonian piece.
"Two doctors said Darius had the worst microfracture injury they had ever seen," Pritchard said. "They would never have him play basketball and the odds of having knee replacement surgery is high. I hear that, and as a general manager, I didn't want it on my conscience -- that I had a kid have to go through a knee replacement surgery. That's a pretty major surgery. They saw (two bones) and replace (the knee). It's a bad deal...
...I wrote about Miles' desire to return to the Blazers prior to the 2007-08 season, and I found him to be polite, engaging, personable and honest, for the most part, about his comeback and future NBA aspirations. But I don't believe he was being honest to himself about the extent of his injury. When Miles finally resumed practice in December, he claimed his knee was "90 percent" healthy. But it was obvious to everyone watching in the Blazers' Tualatin practice facility that Miles was nowhere near 90 percent. After watching him that day -- and in subsequent days -- it was clear his career was over.
He played tentative and cautious. He struggled mightily to cut and stop. And he greatly favored his right knee. Based on those workouts, I doubt Miles could hold his own in a college game, let alone the NBA.
Also, I'd like to repeat that Miles, even if close to healthy, fills none of our immediate needs (and we already have two long-on-potential projects on the roster, Paddy O'Bryant and Bill Walker). He doesn't space the floor, a career 17% 3PT shooter also a 58% FT shooter, i.e. has a worse jump shot than Rondo, and one that never improved appreciably over six seasons.
Nor can he replace Posey's savvy and defensive presence. Sometimes gaudy block and steal numbers aside, Miles's on-the ball defense is just as unpredictable as his mouth; and his decision making on the offensive end is terrible. He owns a worse than 1:1 career assist to TO ratio. (I can't see how this would work out well on a roster where, where he'd play as the third, fourth, fifth scoring option?)