Something has been missing from SLC Dunk. I used to run "The Best Link in All the World, in All the NBA, in All the Universe." I think because it became so easy to do a FanShot, that I would just use that instead. So I'm going to get back to doing (mostly) daily links all in one spot. So here's the first set of the year...
- European Vacation
- More Millsap All-Star talk
- The Jazz could play some pickup flag football. We'll hear more from Boler and Booner on this for sure.
- Nothing out of the ordinary with Boozer's scope. Seriously, why doesn't Booze have a PR firm working for him? As Siler mentioned in his blog, the communication between the Booze camp and the Jazz has been terrible. It's been even worse to the fans. He's made a few statements defending himself, but it seems as if he has no interest in putting to rest any fears/concerns that anyone has about him. He has to know that his rep has taken a hit, deserving or not.
- This might be a bad time to ask Larry to go over the luxury cap.
- You won't hear the end of this for at least 6 months.
- Another Boozer trade idea. - No thanks.
- I agree, the Jazz won't be making any noise at the trade deadline. I'm not even sure what position the Jazz would trade for at this point. Collins and Almond are most likely to get traded, but what are you getting in return? That's not much to land a significant player.
- The whole Darius Miles saga is going to be turned into its own mini-series (do they even do those anymore?) some day. The Blazers have been trying to sabotage him from the beginning. If you don't know already, Miles is owed $9M over the next two years from Portland. However, they got an "independent" doctor to state that Miles was physically unable to play. So they got a salary exemption from the league and were off the hook. However, if Miles played in 10 games, they would be responsible for it again.
First, someone "leaked" a report last summer stating that Miles had failed a drug test. And now that Miles has played in 8 games for the Celtics and Grizzlies, Portland threatens the American way, "We'll sue you if you sign Miles." There have been reports of the Blazers bad-mouthing Darius so that teams would shy away from him. Memphis re-signed Miles anyway and he'll likely play in those two more games.
Why does it seem that real-world common sense doesn't seem to apply to professional sports organizations? First, did they think that no one would figure out who leaked his failed drug test? Did they think that the lawsuit email wouldn't be made public? It's just another case of someone not wanting to be held accountable for their actions (signing Miles to a bad contract).