Though the Blazers (or more likely, their insurance company) still have to pay the man, that doom and gloom prognosis allowed the team to shave the remaining $18 million he's due over the next two years off the salary cap. But there's a catch: in order for the Blazers to stay in the clear, Miles can't return to the NBA -- or more specifically, he can't appear in at least 10 games over the next two years.
Trouble is, that's exactly what he's trying to do. The Boston Globe says he had "an impressive workout" with the Celtics, and the East Valley Tribune reports(via Shoals) the Suns have also inquired about his services. If he can convince some team out there to take a chance on him and he sees even spot duty this year, he could end up sabotaging Portland's master plan.
What are the chances he actually has any game left? If you remember, Miles proclaimed himself "90% healthy" last December when he was cleared to resume conditioning drills with his teammates, and it wasn't until problems with his Achilles tendon surfaced that he was officially ruled out last year.
The upside of Shaq's ridiculous rap-job towards Kobe Bryant is that, well, it was funny. And we got to get all abuzz about it for a week or so. But the newest YouTube news (if you can call it that), should bring out the parental anger from generic America. Because, as you will see below, won't someone think of the children!!!
This clip, honestly, is kind of disturbing. I know that the Shaq rap was not intended as serious (I don't think it was anyway) and I realize that many, many more vehicles of the musical medium are far more offensive and dangerous to children. But do we really want to deal with the new outbreak of children in school and home telling their teachers and parents to taste their a$$es? I say no. (Although, admittedly, there certainly is a time and place to use the phrase.)
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded NBA Correspondent, brings his exclusive NBA reporting to FanHouse. Check back here regularly for more videos.
In this video we ask Stanford star Brook Lopez about the NBA Draft. We also find out from Shaquille O'Neal, the number one pick of the 1992 draft, about his law enforcement career and his efforts to catch online predators. Also find out from Gilbert Arenas, a late second draft pick in 2001, what he would be doing if he was not an NBA All-Star. Around 1:45 into the video hear what Ira Newble, a long time NBA veteran, has to say about making to the NBA without being drafted.
Rumors are a dime twelve dozen this time of year, but the Arizona Republic has published this morning a dazzling little slice of speculation: the Suns have considered sending Boris Diaw to Toronto in exchange for T.J. Ford and the #17 pick.
Diaw and Leandro Barbosa are the Suns on the block, and talk out of Steve Kerr's breath has indicated Phoenix wants another first-rounder or a higher pick than their current 15th selection. Most rumors to date have Barbosa being given away -- a problematic endeavor considering Leandrinho's the closest thing to a back-up point the Suns have got. And, as we've repeated in each of the past five summers: Steve Nash isn't getting any younger.
That's what makes the rumored Ford deal so entrancing: T.J. won't bristle behind Nash the way he did backing up Jose Calderon, and he's so young (25) that he's a budding heir who can learn from (one of) the best. Meanwhile, Diaw could be a major upgrade from the Jamario Moon-Jason Kapono-Joey Graham gauntlet which manned the small forward slot last season.
Armed with #15, #17 and Barbosa, Phoenix would still be well-poised to slide up into the top 10. New York needs bodies galore -- wouldn't the #6 pick for a Sixth Man of the Year and two solid mid-first choices do wonders?
As my colleague Brett Edwards pointed out, Steve Javie is so notorious for making calls against the home team that he gets booed during pregame introductions. But as bad as that gets, he should just be thank he's not officiating 30 years ago ... That's a clip of the 1975 NBA Finals above, and at the 48-second mark referee Richie Powers actually begins brawling with a fan at center court who was apparently angry that Powers (correctly) ruled that time had not expired. Can you imagine if that happened now? It'd lead SportsCenter for a week, and yet back then announcers Rick Barry and Brent Musburger talk about it for barely a minute before getting back to the game.
Also worth pointing out: in the final seconds of regulation, Powers blatantly ignored Boston's Paul Silas' request for a timeout, ostensibly because he knew the Celtics were out of timeouts. Had he granted Silas' request, the Suns would have had a chance to avoid overtime by hitting a technical foul free throw. Needless to say, the Suns were incensed. Don't gloss over the good ol' days: really bad officiating has existed for a long, long time.
Big tip of the hat to Neil Best for pointing this one out.
t's funny how NBA coaching jobs fill up in waves -- within a matter of days Terry Porter, Vinny Del Negro and Michael Curry were all hired by the Suns, Bulls and Pistons, respectively. Only Porter has previous head coaching experience (and only two years at that), which means there will likely be a run on veteran assistant coaches for these guys to lean on.
Considering how long it took the Bulls to settle on Del Negro, you have to wonder if they'll be able to put together a staff of assistants before the season starts. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune indicates that Bob Hill, who's been a head coach of the Knicks, Pacers, Spurs and Sonics, is being considered as the lead assistant. John Paxson is also on the record saying that he anticipates hiring one of the myriad of head coaching candidates to join Del Negro's staff. Considering Del Negro has never coached before at any level, the Bulls will probably want to surround him with an extremely experienced staff.
As for Curry, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com indicates that Dave Cowens, who served alongside Curry under Flip Saunders, will be retained. Cowens has previously coached the Hornets and Warriors (as well as the Celtics, if you include his player/coach days from 1978-79), but it's unclear if he's being considered for the lead role. Langlois added that Igor Kokoskov may follow Porter to Phoenix, but Chris McCosky of the Detroit News says that Kokoskov will also pursue head coaching opportunties in Europe.
According to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, multiple sources have confirmed that Suns GM Steve Kerr called Pistons assistant Terry Porter this morning to offer him the Suns' vacant head coaching job, which Porter accepted. A. Sherrod Blakely, who covers the Pistons for Booth Newspapers, doesn't think the offer has arrived just yet, but expects it will soon:
Terry Porter may very well wind up coaching the Phoenix Suns. But a source who has had discussions with Porter today, said the Pistons assistant had yet to receive an offer from the Suns as of 3:40 EST.
When an offer comes - and there's a very good chance that it will come sometime later today - Porter is expected to accept it immediately with a press conference likely scheduled for Tuesday.
Whatever the case may be, it certainly seems like Porter will be heading west. Porter has always been one of the leading candidates for the job. If you recall, Kerr flew into Michigan to interview Porter while the Pistons were awaiting the winner of the Boston/Cleveland series, and Porter was among the select handful of candidates to interview a second time last week.
Porter has two years of experience under his belt, guiding the Bucks to the playoffs with a 41-41 record in 2003-04 before injuries caught up with his squad and the Bucks stumbled to a 30-52 mark in 2004-05. The Bucks opted not to let Porter coach the final year of their contract in hopes of hiring Flip Saunders or Nate McMillan, though they ultimately missed on both. The last two years, Porter has served as an assistant with the Pistons.
Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau has been credited for installing Boston's tenacious defense, so it's not a surprise at all to see his name linked to several vacant head coaching jobs. (If you remember, he was linked to the Celtics job before the season even began.) That said, it seems the rumor mill might be wrong on this one. From Mark Spears of the Boston Globe:
It seems more and more likely that Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau will be back in Boston next season. The Knicks, Mavericks, and Bobcats didn't ask for permission to speak to him before hiring their new coaches, and the Suns and Bulls have yet to ask for permission, as well.
It's possible everyone is waiting for Boston's playoff run to end, but that didn't stop the Suns from requesting (and receiving) permission to interview Terry Porter. Even if the Suns and Bulls think they'll be denied permission, at least going through the motions of checking sends the signal that they're interested. And considering the Bulls have interviewed just about everybody else, there's no reason not to call dibs on Thibodeau, as well.
Jeff Hornacek just seems like he should be an NBA coach. And he also seems like he would be the ideal kind of candidate for Steve Kerr to hire. He would stress fundamentals and defense and probably require little to no meddling in the front office.
I guess that is why he is interviewing for the head coaching gig in Phoenix.
Hornacek will be interviewed this week by the Suns for a head- or assistant-coach job. He always figured to join the profession while growing up as a high school coach's son.
'Everything my dad said seemed to click,' Hornacek said. 'I've had those thoughts in my head since I was 5.'
Hornacek slowly has entered coaching, waiting for his kids to grow up before re-engaging in the NBA grind. Danny Ainge asked Hornacek to be among three candidates for the Boston Celtics' head-coaching job in 2004 but he passed because he had just moved to the Valley.
Hornacek is plugging himself for this gig too, pointing out that better coaching can get you 'two to four points per game' and that he and Kerr 'see the game the same way.'
Both of those are true, but they are still self-promotional. With good reason too -- a situation with a friendly GM, a slew of veteran leaders and a ready-made contender is a pretty good way to kick off a head coaching career.
If Hornacek lands the job though, and I would probably throw money on decent odds for him to get it, it will be interesting to see how his coaching style, having mentored/played under Jerry Sloan, fits in with a crew of veterans. And Kerr will get a guy that fits his style; the real question will be how much input Nash, Shaq and Amare have in the decision.
Darius Miles hasn't appeared in an NBA game since 2006, and in April it was determined by a doctor appointed by both the NBA and the Players Association that his injured knees were so messed up that he'd likely never play again. 
Rumors are a dime twelve dozen this time of year, but the Arizona Republic has published this morning 
t's funny how NBA coaching jobs fill up in waves -- within a matter of days 
According to 
Celtics assistant coach 
Jeff Hornacek
