In case you weren't paying attention, the Grizzlies rolled the dice on Darius Miles on Saturday, giving the oft-injured forward a non-guaranteed contract. He needs to serve a 10-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy before playing, but assuming all goes to plan, he should be eligible to take the court on Jan. 4 against the Mavericks. It's not a complete surprise that Miles was signed -- he looked decent in the preseason and nearly made the Celtics' roster before getting caught in a numbers game. His suspension certainly scared a few times off, but what do the Grizzlies have to lose? GM Chris Wallace explained the rationale behind the move:
"We need to find more veterans -- not just so much for leadership but for production on the court. We need guys who have been there a little bit."It's a little odd to see Miles regarded as a veteran leader, but at 27, he's older than all but a few of his new teammates. At worst, he could serve as a cautionary tale for how fleeting NBA fame really is.
If Wallace was really so desperate for a veteran presence, though, why is the team buying out Antoine Walker? The Grizzlies acquired Walker from the Timberwolves over the summer in the O.J. Mayo/Kevin Love swap but never intended to use him -- in fact, he hasn't appeared in a regular season game since last February.
But even though he's been a casualty of youth movements on two different teams, let's not forget that he's still only 32 years old -- too old to be part of the long-term solution but hardly decrepit. Is Miles, a guy who hasn't played since 2006 due to a knee injury that had independent league doctors convinced he'd never take the court again, a better bet for production than Walker? I don't see it.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Miles is a locker-room cancer. Memphis will be sorry!
Chris Wallace is bitter from his Boston days and he took it out on Antoine. This was a personal bias and had nothing to do with the team being better.
Either that is Chris Wallace was being paid by Danny Ainge.
Walker was a class act. Chris Wallace tried to make Antoine mad to take a buy out by sitting him on the bench and making him watch and not play.
No wonder why the Grizzlies stink and have never accomplished anything.
Don't forget cheater because Miles is suspended for 10 days.
As shocking as it sounds I wouldn't be surprised to see Anpoine go back to Miami. This was the first time since he left that the newspapers didn't take swipes at him.
Antoine was never a cancer in any locker room and anyone that says he was never played with him. He still is best friends with many of his ex teammates