Even skeptics chalked up Portland's Andre Miller acquisition as a win. Miller, one of the best distributors of this decade, figured to augment an already lethal Blazers offense while providing a jolt of veteran leadership. Even if you don't believe in the power of savvy, Miller's passing skills sit on a different plane than those of Steve Blake, the incumbent.What Portland probably didn't count on was Miller causing drama ... in the preseason. Blazers coach Nate McMillan has been insisting Blake is the starter for now. But Miller told Yahoo!'s Marc Spears that coming off the bench wasn't a part of the deal when he signed with Portland. And we have a problem.
Here's what Miller says about his perceived role upon signing his three-year, $21 million contract:
"If I was told right out when I had my meetings that I would be a backup, then I wouldn't have come here," Miller told Yahoo! Sports this week.Back in late August, Miller told Brian T. Smith of The Columbian that he expected to be the starting point guard ... but that he understood it was a spot he'd have to win.
I'm going in there as the starting point guard -- there's nothing else to it. Steve Blake is a great player ... he's done a good job. And I look at it as a challenge. Nothing is handed to you. So I have to go in there with the right attitude, knowing that, this is a point guard spot that is going to have to be battled for. I think I've earned the right in this league as a point guard to be a starter. I just have to go and prove it again.It seems that going into training camp, Miller knew he wouldn't be handed the job. But perhaps he expected more deference ... like getting the call in the first couple preseason games. (Blake started Portland's first two preseason games, and Miller started the third.)
The starter-reserve problem is the chief problem, as Spears writes, but not the only problem. McMillan had previously told local media that Miller was the only player who failed the team's conditioning test at the start of training camp. Miller says a few players told him privately that they had also failed, but team staff "fixed" their times so that they would not have to suffer a week of extra conditioning work as Miller did.
In Spears's story, Miller also bemoans the lack of respect he commands in the league. You have to wonder if he's still miffed about the low interest he drew as a free agent this summer. And you really have to wonder what all this tension is going to do to the otherwise cordial Blazers roster.
Hat tip to Blazers Edge.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
IF he is being quotely correctly, tell his Mommie to change is diaper, and when he gets grown up enough for kindergarten maybe he`ll realize he was right saying if he wanted to play, start, he`d have to earn it. Suspend him without pay, until his mind and body are in condition to begin midget basketball with the other little boys. And check to see if he is right, the team his been losing games because trainers have been covering up for out of condition athletes. If so, fire them. Hire some folks who may be incompetent but at least are honest. Maybe move the team to Thebes (St. Louis), or Missouri (Kansas) City, Tampa, San Diego, NashVille, Austin, somewhere they have competent, honest, trainers, and little boys who are workers, not whiners. Maybe the saddest thing is, the Trailers need Miller to play well and win the starting spot, but he clearly allegedly feels he isn`t man enough to do so.
Giles nice rant except your comments are ignorant and void of any comprehensible thought. Andre Miller is a 33 year old veteran who has missed three games in his 10 year career. This is pre-season, the games don’t count! The whole conditioning story is ridiculous and pointless. If he was consistently overweight and missed as many games as Baron Davis then there would be an issue, but that’s not the case. Nor, is he giving interviews about “practice.”
Also, I could care less about Andre Miller’s social life and how he interacts with his teammates away from the team. This isn’t a fraternity or a high school team, this is the NBA. He treats basketball as a job, as a profession, because he’s a professional. Isn’t that what we want out of all professional athletes? He’s never been in trouble off the court, so who cares about his life away from basketball, or if he’s not particularly warm and fuzzy to reporters? All I know is he led the 76ers to an Eastern Conference playoff birth where he averaged 21.2 points, 5.3 assists, 6.3 rebounds and shot 47.5 percent from the floor and 82.4 percent from the foul line. Oh, and he was voted team MVP.
No knock on Steve Blake, but Miller is a better basketball player. He’s third on the active career assist list, and if you have a problem with him wanting to start would you if one of the other names on that list were in Portland? Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Baron Davis, Mike Bibby and Chauncey Billups are the other notable point guards on that list and only Kidd and Nash rank ahead of Miller. Giles, would you post your pointless blabber about Billups being a whiney school girl if he was upset about playing back-up to Steve Blake? No, of course not! It’s time for the local Blazers’ fans to quit taking local and national newspaper articles and blog posts as the gospel. Watch basketball, watch games not just highlight clips and formulate your own decisions. Be intelligent basketball fans, frankly I’m disappointed to be a Blazer fan at the moment, because of all the “Giles” that have come out of the woodwork.
Portland now has one of the best point guards in the league so let’s start him and enjoy the ride.
If Miller is so GREAT! Than why did he only have two teams that showed interest? If Miller is not starting, it is because he has not earned that spot. Portland oviously has a rooster that works, and proved that last year, and I do not see Nate changing things up because Miller is crying. If there was no discussion about coming off the bench, than Miller, and his agent missed the question during their talks when signing.
Chauncey Billups DID face a similar situation, though he was younger. He played well for Boston, went to Orlando, was benched, not just coming off the bench, stranded in the doghouse, couldn`t get into games. He handled it the right way. When he had to move on, he did. Became a championship MVP. Not too bad for a supposed true FL man, a supposed failure and a loser. Decisions are always very subjective, and sometimes the cream falls to the bottom for at least a while. Chauncey shouldn`t have had to fall before he rose to the top, but I am glad he was able to cope with it. Life often isn`t nearly as easy, even for spoiled, pampered types, like jocks, as some would like to believe. There is never, ever, a guarantee the cream will rise to the top. The most anyone can do is there best, and try to hope that will eventually be good enough. In the US, maybe it often is. In too much of the world, it usually isn`t. I wish Andre a good season, whether he starts or not, and wish the Trailers well, too.
I didn`t assume Miller was guilty as charged, but yes, any athlete new to a team should expect to earn his sport with his work, not his mouth. Particularly an athlete who, as I pointed out, has a proven track record of being able to earn his spot. Which is also why I doubted the report. But maybe he thought he was getting old and going for a paid retirement. That happens. And I didn`t make any comment on his gender, personal life, etc. Just said he should earn his way, and not try to coach his coach. McMillan has had success as an athlete and as a coach. He knows what he is doing. All the more reason for him to not whimper like a spoiled brat about not starting mere preseason games. The void of thought, ignorant rant, pointless blather, were what Miller is reported to have done, and defense of it.
Oh, and to be clear, I think this story is probably some jerk editor trying to jerk the chains of the racists, but pretending an established black point guard was being uppity, faced with having to earn time against an incumbent white point guard. I doubt Miller suddenly went out of character and went infantile, but it can happen. That is why my very first word was IF this report is true. But since it can happen, and since coach only has to find out if it is some editor making up a false melatrauma, if it is not true, I commented additionally on the need to teach self discipline if it is true. I have commented many times against the media`s racist hat campaigns. But any athlete can get prissy, and feel he`s earned more than he has. So far, coach has handled it about as I would have. I`d expect to start the incumbent two or three, exhibition games, the challenger two or three, dedide whether I was going back to the incumbent two or three, and, with 8 exhbitions games availbable, might go back to the challenger for two more games before deciding who my probable starter would be for the season. On past performance, as I already indicated, probably Miller. But I would also try pairing the two, despite the wing guard seeming to have a lock on his starting spot, since both Blake and Miller can play either guard spot. Exhibition season is the best time to experiment, see what you have. And having a reliable point guard off the bench to organize the wannabes is a nice luzury to have, at any time, exhibition season or otherwise.
My comment wasn’t completely directed at you Giles, and it was out of frustration that I wrote it in the first place. There were a couple of things that I found troublesome in your comment, but ultimately it was directed at what seems to be the common sentiment coming from Portland fans.
As a fan of Andre Miller I’ve followed him from team to team and watched as the fan base and often the organization under appreciate his presence. He certainly has his personality quirks and his athletic limitations, but the one thing you get from him on a nightly basis is consistency and effort.
I do believe that the media often picks and chooses favorites based on interaction, and that’s obviously not Andre’s strong suit. The local media is not helping this situation by continuously printing articles about how Andre came in to camp out of shape, or how he is going to be a distraction if he doesn’t start, or why he isn’t more willing to fit in with this team off the court. Personally, I don’t think this is a racial issue, rather a popularity issue. Andre doesn’t like attention and isn’t flashy, plus he’s a reporters worst nightmare when he’s playing well because he makes things look simple.
Without inside knowledge the only argument I can make for Miller, is based off of what I’ve read and I don’t like to do that. However, McMillan has stated on several occasions that he still wants to go with last year’s starting line-up. If that’s the case it doesn’t sound like it was ever Andre’s job to win. According to what was reportedly discussed during their summer meeting, “the starting point guard spot will be a competition, and he’ll (Andre) will have to earn the right to start.” If that is true, then it seems Miller should have the edge on Blake based on pre-season production.
The Blazers are a deep team and minutes will be an issue. What I fear is that if the Blazers get off to a slow start, the blame will be heaped on Miller’s shoulders. It feels as though the media and fans are just waiting to pile on. This Blazers team is young, talented and extremely deep. Personally, I believe too deep. The ego of a professional athlete is ridiculously large, and it will be interesting to see how happy some of the reserves are on this team not getting consistent minutes.
I agree with you and Ron, Jeff, basically. Miller has so far played better than Blake, but is older, and doesn`t fit Portland`s future plans. Much like, at a different position, when Paul Silas joined Boston, which had a tradition of Hall of Fame sixth men, and came off the bench, behind future fellow coach Don Nelson. The attitude by both media and athletes can be appalling at times. Guys are there to win, and do their best, regardless who starts, regardless who closes tight games. Let a guy win, let him contribute, pay him well, he ought to be probably happy at work.