Darius Miles and the State of the NBA

My dad is old school. Really old school. Like, his college uniform looked like boxer briefs and a wife beater, so he’s a hoops fan since the fifties. So why does my dad pass on the NBA finals to watch Frasier and Everybody Loves Raymond reruns? Two words:

Darius Miles.

My dad calls me up periodically to lament the fact that our former favorite team, the Portland Trail Blazers, has this knucklehead on our roster. He’s physically gifted, 6-9, can run, jump, and dunk like all athletic wing players should. But, as my dad and I often discuss, he has no real basketball skills. His shooting is embarrassing, his ball-handling is regrettable, and his basketball IQ is in the negatives.

Why else would a 24-yr-old with sublime athletic abilities be on his third team since the 2000-2001 season? And, if Blazer fans get their wish, he’ll be looking at his fourth team in nine seasons. How is that possible? The book is out on Darius. Physically gifted, mentally challenged, and doesn’t REALLY care about basketball. You can see by the way he trains. He’s the exact same player he was when he entered the draft out of high school.

His career stats are pedestrian, yet the Blazer front office made him a cornerstone of the franchise, despite a 10.6 ppg scoring average and a career .47 shooting percentage. Clearly, the Blazer front office deserves some of the blame for signing Miles to a long term deal. But his days in the Portland are numbered which is a good thing.

But what does this have to do with my dad not liking the NBA? You see, my dad and I both realize that there are many Darius Miles’ in the NBA. Players who have all the physical gifts in the world and take them for granted. They never seem to work at their deficiencies. They’re content to be “Another Millionaire.” Where’s the incentive to work when you’ve signed a six year deal worth 80+ million? My dad was a 6-5 post player for Pepperdine in the 60’s. I was a 6-0 walk-on point guard at the NAIA level and we’re both convinced that we worked harder than Darius Miles.

But Darius has the money and we have a three bedroom house in the suburbs.

Part II coming up: Rising from the Ashes - Dwayne Wade, Dirk and the new NBA

Date

Thu 07/06/06, 9:54 am EST

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Davis21wylieMVP

1245 days ago

Score 2

Good article. Miles, in between hurling racial slurs at his coach (which was odd, since last time I checked both he and Cheeks are black), is a poor shooter (he practices shooting a lot -- during games), rebounder, ballhandler, passer, etc. that underachieves in every facet of the game. Until his remarkable (and, I'm convinced, never to be seen again) playoff run, you could stick Tim Thomas in the same category. Which makes the LeBron/DWade/Melo 2003-present renaissance so refreshing: unlike the "future stars" of the mind-to-late 1990's like Thomas and Miles, today's phenoms have more than lived to expectations, and quicker than we imagined possible, too. The game will be in good hands as long as this new crop of stars isn't content to simply cash their paychecks while mailing in their games.

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BigPPupMajor Leaguer

1245 days ago

Score 1

Both points are very well made. The NBA in the late 90's in the post Jordan era was a complete mess. Ive said it once and Ill say it 1000 times, Stern created a monster by taking in the Hip Hop NBA and then he lost control of it. There is an amazing upside however and it was seen during this years playoffs. Dwayne Wade, Gilbert Arenas, Lebron and company are a new batch of players who give us rivalries and action like the greats of the past.

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DeuelioJV Squad

1245 days ago

Score 0

It's kind of sad when all we require out of stars is they don't get arrested or are at least coacheable. I will post Part II of the series later tonight...if you care.

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XtinctWaterboy

1245 days ago

Score 0

What exactly is the hip hop NBA?

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Wtt02005Varsity

1245 days ago

Score 2

I thought Miles played well when he was a Clipper. His last few seasons, I chalk it up to injury, and the fact that the Trailblazers organization is a mess right now. If you're going to blame Miles, blame Randolph who hasn't lived up to his potential since becoming their leader.

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Anonymous Fanatic #1

1245 days ago

Score 1

Here's the problem. Why should I blame someone else for his problems. I hate that mentality and I won't do it. Darius is a grown man, he should know right from wrong and should not need someone holding his hand along the way. He mad his choices, generally bad ones, and now he needs to live with them. Is it Randolph's fault he cussed out Mo Cheeks? Zach's fault he dressed at halftime of a game when Nate McMillan told him to be available? Sorry, he's childish, ignorant, and competely out of touch with anything close to reality. I don't blame anyone other than Miles for what he's done. Again, I ask: why, if he's so good and talented, is he about to be on his fourth team in nine years? Generally teams try to hold onto their talented players rather than trade them.

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DeuelioJV Squad

1245 days ago

Score 0

The above comment was mine, I always forget to login.

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