PS Isn’t it ironic that every time I think of Donagehy (or however you spell the ref who took money), I see an image of the Illinois mayor in my head? Too much SNL….

Alex S

what about the chicago bulls, 141-23 over the first two seasons of their second three-peat? they broke the record for regular season wins with 72, then came back the next year and tied what had been the previous record with 69 (and lost three of the last four regular season games).

Kurt and Snoopy already said it well, but the bottom line is that Portland claimed Miles was medically unable to play basketball (okay, an independent physician made the diagnosis, but you get my point) … that his injury was career ending and that essentially he was no longer capable of running up and down an NBA basketball court. Thing is, it turned out that wasn’t the case.

The Blazers signed Miles to that contract, and it’s only fair that they have to wait for it to come off their cap, just like any other team that makes a bad signing. They are engaging in behavior that is borderline illegal, practically immoral, and altogether devoid of class (and good sense).

The worst part is, they don’t need to resort to such desperate actions! They may have to pay some luxury taxes as a result of this, sure, but Portland is already loaded with young talent and set up for the future with or without the additional salary flexibility. They … and their fans … should have been happy with that.

Regarding your counter points.

1. The reason the Celtics are struggling now is because House and Cassell aren’t viable options. House is NOT a PG and Cassell is washed up.

3. The fact that the Celtics had those players under Doc and were that bad just goes to show that Doc didn’t do a good job coaching or developing youth. West is a vital player for Cleveland and supposedly Jefferson was good enough to validate trading KG for (not really).

Two other thoughts.

Jefferson is merely offensively superior to Perk. That’s it.

We’ll see Doc’s tutelage with how or if he can bring along Gabe Pruitt. The Celtics have no other option right now, but to use him. Popovich has worked George Hill into the line-up nicely. Can Doc?

82 – I have to admit, I’m puzzled. Portland has a savvy FO, and they’d know they couldn’t prove intent, and they should also have known that email wouldn’t deter anyone. I’m wondering if there’s a hidden motive, something we’re not seeing. Or they simply got greedy and made a colossal mistake.

Henry at Truehoop said it best. Miles can play. He should not be medically retired. He should be on Portland’s cap. It’s that simple.

I agree completely. The fans hate Fish because he’s ripped their hearts out twice. The animosity towards our Lakers, though, is unreal – only Cowtown comes close. I’ve had people throw beer on me, curse my son, ushers don’t acknowledge you, etc. Most of the time, I don’t have a problem with it, but it always help when we win. I’d love to see Kobe drop 40 and we roll to victory of the Spurs. The Spurs are the ONLY team he’s never hit up for 40 – ever. I’ve seen every Laker visit here in SA for the past 10 years and it just hasn’t been the same since the Spurs moved into the AT&T center. Kobe & Co. used to love playing in front of crowds of 40,000+, but the current arena is a concrete dump.

Fish isn’t that maligned, most of the league respects him. In SA it seems like he’s most hated for basketball-related heroics, not personality issues. That always happens in close losses. And the fans in Utah (the ones who booed him, not all of them), we don’t even need to get into.

Looks like Dan Gilbert fired back at the Blazers. I’d have to say I’m surprised Cuban hasn’t spoken up yet. Unless he’s picking Miles up from the airport…?