NBA Boston

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.

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.

As Situation Maggette remains unresolved, lesser wing free agents seem to be biding their time before the first domino falls. In one case -- James Posey -- a player are just now finding out they are considered lesser wing free agents than Corey Maggette, and that really sort of makes him upset. From the Boston Herald:

Free agent James Posey, via agent Mark Bartelstein, continued to talk to other NBA suitors in the wake of what he considers an unacceptable offer from his former team - one that falls short of the $5.8 million mid-level exception as well as his desire for a 4- to 5-year deal.

Boston has reportedly made that contract available to Maggette, which might contribute to Posey's air of insult. But is anyone willing to offer Posey -- a great defender, but a 31-year-old with limited offensive skills -- more than $25 million for four years of work? Bill Ingram of Hoopsworld reports Houston might throw that cash at Posey, to which I say ...

... what?! Posey is a poor man's Shane Battier. And the Rockets -- specifically general manager Daryl Morey -- love Shane Battier. They traded Rudy Gay for him. And Battier makes only $20 million over the next three years, is two years younger, and shoots substantially better from three on his career. Why on Earth would Houston bring in Posey when they have Battier, and why on Earth would Houston replace Battier with Posey? Makes no sense.

Odd headline to come across: "Celtics extend offer to Maggette." The Boston Globe's excellent Marc J. Spears offered the news. Yeah, the Celtics, who just won a title and have guys named Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett manning the 2-4 positions on the court, the team who will be tapping the Grousbeck kids' college funds to pay the luxury tax for the next few years. Those Celtics, going after one of the top free agents on the market, one of the few guys assured to switch teams and certainly worth more than the mid-level.

If the Clippers renew their commitment to Elton Brand, as expected, Corey Maggette's gone. He'd have to be renounced by the Clippers in order to squeeze in Baron Davis' $13 million. That means L.A. can't sign-and-trade Maggette, which would have been the easiest way for the guy to get a contract in the $7-10 million per year range. Assuming all that happens (Maggs is renounced, Brand resigns for $13 million or so), Maggette's options above the mid-level shrink profusely. There's Philadelphia (if they strike out on Josh Smith), Memphis (unlikely), and maybe Golden State.

So if it becomes a mid-level fiesta, Boston's brilliant for getting into the sweepstakes early. They can offer Maggs the same contract almost every other team can ... and they can also offer the best shot at a ring (though the Lakers might quibble). Can they offer a starting role? I don't see Allen slipping into back-up mode just yet, not after that glorious Finals performance.

Luckily, Maggs has been ... taught how to deal with a bench role. In 2006-07, when the Clippers just missed on a playoff berth, Maggette came off the bench 44 times. His scoring output -- already illustrious -- increased in that role, though his famous efficiency dipped substantially. Would Maggette go back to a sub-30 minutes/game prison, all in the name of team success and perhaps a promise of the two-guard spot when Allen's contract expires in two years? Keep in mind that Maggs is 28 and hasn't had one of those massive contracts yet in his career.

The potent BrewHoop asked last week if the champion Celtics stood a chance in a best-of-seven series against Team USA (which features no Celtics). Via BallHype, WhatIfSports ran the simulation ... well, 1,000 simulations, to be more exact.

Using 1,000 separate simulations of a seven-game "NBA Championship"-esque series, we determined the most common result to be a Team USA victory in five games. This outcome occurred 85% of the time, with an average 14 point margin of victory.

The odds have LeBron James or Kobe Bryant winning the MVP. (Revenge!) It seems WhatIf uses the standard NBA home court advantage (home teams win 60% of the time, given equality in quality), though Team USA really has no home court. (They played well in Vegas, though.)

Perhaps more interesting would be to see how Boston would theoretically fare against other top national teams, like Spain or less star-driven Lithuania. Though, if the internationals won, Dan Shaughnessy's head might explode (which might not be the worst outcome).

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

I'm sure the Celtics staff spent the entirety of this weekend watching tape of Jason Thompson and Sonny Weems. I'm absolutely sure of it.

Picks: #30, #60.

Needs: What's a champ need? Well, if P.J. Brown and Scot Pollard are shrugging back toward retirement, a suitable big taller than 6'9 (sorry Leon Powe, Glen Davis) might be in order. Assuming James Posey and/or Eddie House get rich, another guard could be useful.

Best case scenario: Chris Douglas-Roberts would be Heaven-sent at #30. Ryan Anderson would be a potential Omega to the bench bruiserism of Powe and Baby.

The idea of purchasing a Larry Bird Replica Mustache is nothing if not intriguing. I would wear that little plastic fake fur strip a lot, to be honest and ... oh. I see. It's not fake. Someone is actually selling their real mustache hair on EBay. Go on.

Sadly, Larry Bird's mustache is no more, however, you can have the next best thing...a PERFECT REPLICA GROWN SPECIFICALLY FOR THE 2008 NBA CHAMPIONSHIP. This mustache was worn during each grueling playoff game, being treated with the highest degree of care (shampooed/conditioned daily, trimmed weekly.)

Winner will have the option of receiving the mustache by one of two methods:

1) Shaved off with an electric trimmer and inserted into a plastic, sandwich bag.
2) Waxed off, keeping the shape and integrity of the mustache intact (recommended)

Inexplicably, the mustache (the real hair off someone's lip!!!) is currently selling for $5.50. Un-real. Of course, it was at $0.99 before Hot Clicks ran with it this morning, so fur-man, you can thank Jimmy Traina for that extra coin you're pocketing.

Just like any internet sensation, the spoofs on the "There Can Only Be One" NBA ads seem like they will go on forever. (All I can think of here is the SNL "Lazy Sunday" parodies, which were funny at first, but were soul draining after about, oh, the fifth one.) But eventually they will die out. They have to.

Fortunately, they won't die before we get to see the bearded Boston radio guy doing a thank you to the Celtics.



Let me tell you one thing folks: you shave half your head simply to make a spoof on the NBA, and you are going to get some blog love. That's just the facts.

H/T: Hot Clicks

Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe, please share with us why you think the Celtics won the championship.

"Kobe Bryant scored 22 for the losers, but ultimately LA just had too many Europeans."

Calling a team soft is one thing. Asserting certain players aren't big or tough enough to bang with heavyweights, that's a common practice and perfect sensible as a critique if the facts back it up. Indicting the ethnic lineage of a group of players in generalist sense? That's racial profiling, buddy.

Pau Gasol might be an example of one of these "soft" players; it's easy to see Kevin Garnett dominated Pau physically repeatedly, including in a few memorable possessions in Game 6. If we're talking about Pau and Pau only, I'll buy it: Pau's lack of ability to adapt to a physical matchup hurt the Lakers. And hey, include Vladimir Radmanovic all you want. Dude's built like a Bourne villain and averaged 3 rebounds this season. (You'll get no agreement here that Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf are softer than the average NBA player. Turiaf watched his chest get split open three years ago, for corn's sake.)

Does the so-called soft nature of Pau or Vlad have an iota to do with their ancestry? Of course not. Pau's skinny for the center spot, and has always had the skills suited to a finesse offensive game. Same with Vlad. Same with Peja. All Serbs and Spaniards are not the same, just as all Southies and gremlins are not the same. You'd think we'd get past stereotypes lazy and offensive at some point this eon.

And I mean, seriously Shaughnessy: the San Antonio Spurs have won three titles this decade featuring a roster full of Euro-born (Tony Parker, Rasho Nesterovic) and Euro-bred athletes (Manu Ginobili, Fabricio Oberto). The argument that the Lakers lost because the racial makeup of their roster isn't just stupidly offensive; it's offensively stupid. (Of course, this is expected with this particular writer.)

Honestly, it never occurred to me, while watching Kevin Garnett's insane post game interview with Michelle Tafoya, that he might be taking a whole slogan-savvy approach to the whole thing. But then I read Darren Rovell's article about the celebration, and I gotta admit, the idea that the Big Ticket was pimping out Adidas ("ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!") does hold a little water.

For a second, I thought that is so great. How often, in the first interview after you win the championship, do you quote the slogan of your shoe sponsor (adidas pays Garnett for his endorsement)? And then I thought, wait, did he just say, "Anything is possible?" That's not adidas' slogan. Their slogan is "Impossible Is Nothing.

One of Rovell's readers points out that Li-Ning, a Chinese shoe company, already has "Anything Is Possible" pegged as their slogan, albeit in Chinese (yiqie jieyou keneng). So either Garnett messed up or he just didn't mean to do any advertising at all.