Miles getting to the point?
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Send an Email to Chad Ford Thursday, October 9
Updated: October 9
9:31 AM ET
Has Darius Miles finally found his niche in the NBA? Coming off a terrible season last year, Miles is quietly turning heads in Cleveland with his play at the point.
After saying all summer that LeBron James is the Cavs point guard of the future, coach Paul Silas is now having second thoughts.
Miles
Miles was terrible in the preseason opener versus Detroit. But one Cavs source told Insider that it was just opening night jitters. Miles has been special in practice and he showed that in Wednesday night's victory over the Hawks. Miles' 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds have Silas hopeful that Miles is his point guard of the present. His improved perimeter shooting has everyone breathing a sigh of relief. But it was Miles' ability to come into the game in the fourth quarter and knock down the game-winner (from 19 feet) that is giving the Cavs hope that Miles, not LeBron, will be the real story this season.
"He's supposed to take [that shot] and he's supposed to make it," Silas told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "This was by far one of his better games. He initiated the offense, and when I put him back in [late in the fourth], I told him that he needed to take over and he did."
If the Cavs are going to make a big push for the playoffs this season, Miles needs to emerge as the leader. James will have too much baggage and too little experience to carry the entire load this season. Ricky Davis is a gifted scorer, but he isn't exactly Steven Covey in the locker room. Carlos Boozer and Zydrunas Ilgauskas will quietly play their roles.
That leaves Miles, who finally appears serious about tapping that deep well of talent. Miles spent all summer working out with Michael Jordan's trainer, Tim Grover, in Chicago. The workouts included strength training, rehab on the surgically repaired knee and lots and lots of shooting.
But it was apparently coach Silas that gave Miles the confidence to come out and actually sink a couple of shots.
"I have way more confidence in my outside shot now because of coach Silas," Miles said. "He told me to gain some confidence in my jumper or I'll be sitting next to him. I really don't want to sit next to him."
Around the League
How will the Jazz use that extra six to seven million in cap room they still have sitting around this season? Sorry Jazz fans, GM Kevin O'Connor has no intentions of using the money to get a veteran player to help the Jazz this season.
O'Connor told Insider (here in Salt Lake as part of our ESPN training camp tour) that the team is unlikely to pursue a trade that would add a veteran contributor to its roster. O'Connor said that the team really wants to get a sense of what it has from all of its young players first.
The team knows it will be difficult to make the playoffs with such a young squad. Adding a mid-level veteran via trade likely won't change the equation too much. So instead, O'Connor prefers to give his young guys a one-year audition.
Nuggets GM Kiki Vandeweghe did the same thing in Denver last season and the move appears to have paid off.
Mills
That doesn't mean the team is done dealing, however. Apparently, the Jazz have been talking to the Mavericks for several days about a trade that would send draft picks and forward Chris Mills (who has one year, $6.6 million left on his deal) to the Jazz.
Why would each team do it? For the Mavs, it saves them $13.2 million this season when you factor in luxury-tax payments. Mark Cuban hasn't been shy about paying the luxury tax, but no one likes to give away that much cash.
For the Jazz, it gives them the opportunity to stockpile even more draft picks without digging into their cap space for next season. What's the holdup? The Jazz probably want to see the Mills' medical reports first. If he's injured as badly as believed, the team could leave him on the injured list for the season and have insurance pick up 80 percent of his tab this season. If he's healthy, they may balk at the deal. Paying Mills' $6.6 million salary probably isn't worth what the Mavs are offering in return.
Is there trouble brewing in New Jersey? Alonzo Mourning ripped the Nets earlier in the week when he found out that the team was dumping Dikembe Mutombo and letting him go for free to their cross river nemesis the Knicks.
Now, Richard Jefferson is joining the fight. "It was not a very smart move," Jefferson said told the New York Post. "We're in the business of winning games. We understand financially that might have been better. If you're trying to sell the team it was a good move but how do you tell the guys, 'Hey, we're going to hurt your chances of winning a championship so we can save a little bit of money?' Isn't that kind of an oxymoron?"
That's not the only thing brewing in New Jersey. Two league sources told Insider that relationships between the Nets players and head coach Byron Scott are also strained. "A lot of them miss Eddie [Jordan]," one source told Insider. "He was the mediator. Without him there's more pressure on management to keep the peace. That's never good."
If the Nets get off to a slow start, or if Mourning isn't able to go because of his illness, don't be surprised if the Nets revolt.
Artest
Ron Artest picked up right where he left off on Wednesday, getting a technical in the first preseason game of the year. But at least Artest is progressing. This time the technical had nothing to do with Artest getting too physical on the court. According to Artest, he tried to joke around with the referee by not giving him the ball when he requested it.
Coach Rick Carlisle immediately pulled Artest out of the game. He wasn't laughing afterward.
"You can't get unnecessary technical fouls and survive on a consistent basis in this league and play at a playoff level," Carlisle told the Indianapolis Star. "It's one of the things we'll continue to work on and talk about. We'll be positive about it, but at the same time it's serious business."
Artest then took offense at Carlisle's ultra-serious reaction to the his antics.
"If I'm going to be taken out for stuff like that I'd rather not be in the game," he said. "I'd rather be with another team. I apologized to the ref and it was that simple. That's all it was."
With Artest now giving the Pacers the green light to trade him, you think Larry Bird is picking up the phone and trying to dump the talented, but eccentric two guard? Artest still has a lot of value in the league because of his defensive prowess, and neither Bird nor Carlisle has the patience for his immaturity.
This could be the straw that gets everyone in Indy their wish.
-------------------------------------------------
Peep Show
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Thursday, October 9
Updated: October 9
10:41 AM ET
New York Knicks: Head coach Don Chaney is hoping he can remove his foot from his mouth and inspire confidence in Charlie Ward and Howard Eisley at the same time after telling the media that his team still needed a "great point guard." "I love my point guards," Chaney said in the N.Y. Daily News. "I was referring to superstar guards. I think my guys know who they are and where they are. I apologized to them. I don't believe in saying those kind of things or doing anything to hurt them. I think we can win with what we have." Earlier in the week, Chaney said. "We've still don't have a great point guard yet . . . We've been looking for a great point guard for a long time and we're still looking."
New Jersey Nets: Richard Jefferson isn't calling his bosses stupid after they waived Dikembe Mutombo, but . . . "It was not a very smart move," Jefferson said in the New York Post. "We're in the business of winning games. We understand financially that might have been better. If you're trying to sell the team it was a good move but how do you tell the guys, 'Hey, we're going to hurt your chances of winning a championship so we can save a little bit of money?' Isn't that kind of an oxymoron?"
O'Neal
Los Angeles Lakers: If Shaquille O'Neal doesn't get his $100 million extension, then somebody's gonna have to pay. "I think I can go seven, eight more years," he said in the L.A. Times. "This game is fun. It's what I do. I'll go about seven or eight. Seven or eight, easily That's perfect. Then I can be sheriff and I can arrest your [butt] for writing that bull that you write." In between similar quotes, Shaq dismantled the Warriors frontline in their preseason game and took every opportunity to look at owner Jerry Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak in the stands and scream for his money. "I didn't mumble," he said. "You read my lips and you read them clearly."
Cleveland Cavaliers: For the second time since March, Dajuan Wagner has torn the same ligament in his right knee and will now require a second surgery to repair it. "We're not sure how long he'll be out," Cavaliers general manager Jim Paxson said to the Akron Beacon Journal. "It will depend on what they find when they go in. The tear is close to where he injured it before." He is expected to miss about six weeks of action.
Mashburn
New Orleans Hornets: Jamal Mashburn will be joining David Wesley on the bench as the two players succumbed to injuries prior to their opening exhibition games. "We're sitting him out as a precaution," coach Tim Floyd said of Mashburn in the Times-Picayune. "He has some swelling, and they're going to take another look at it on Monday." P.J. Brown also missed the game due to injury while Darrell Armstrong sprained his ankle during it.
Indiana Pacers: According to the referee, Ron Artest committed a technical foul for failing to hand over the game ball to him. According to Artest, he was just playing around in the team's preseason game. "He's (the referee) not from the park," Artest said in the Indianapolis Star. "He's never seen anything like that and it was a total shock. In the park you can do a lot of tricks like that and if you've got a good handle such as myself the ball's not going to come away from your hands. Obviously coach Carlisle and the referee have never seen anything like that in their life. He gave me a tech and coach took me out. I was just having fun."
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Send an Email to Chad Ford Thursday, October 9
Updated: October 9
9:31 AM ET
Has Darius Miles finally found his niche in the NBA? Coming off a terrible season last year, Miles is quietly turning heads in Cleveland with his play at the point.
After saying all summer that LeBron James is the Cavs point guard of the future, coach Paul Silas is now having second thoughts.
Miles
Miles was terrible in the preseason opener versus Detroit. But one Cavs source told Insider that it was just opening night jitters. Miles has been special in practice and he showed that in Wednesday night's victory over the Hawks. Miles' 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds have Silas hopeful that Miles is his point guard of the present. His improved perimeter shooting has everyone breathing a sigh of relief. But it was Miles' ability to come into the game in the fourth quarter and knock down the game-winner (from 19 feet) that is giving the Cavs hope that Miles, not LeBron, will be the real story this season.
"He's supposed to take [that shot] and he's supposed to make it," Silas told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "This was by far one of his better games. He initiated the offense, and when I put him back in [late in the fourth], I told him that he needed to take over and he did."
If the Cavs are going to make a big push for the playoffs this season, Miles needs to emerge as the leader. James will have too much baggage and too little experience to carry the entire load this season. Ricky Davis is a gifted scorer, but he isn't exactly Steven Covey in the locker room. Carlos Boozer and Zydrunas Ilgauskas will quietly play their roles.
That leaves Miles, who finally appears serious about tapping that deep well of talent. Miles spent all summer working out with Michael Jordan's trainer, Tim Grover, in Chicago. The workouts included strength training, rehab on the surgically repaired knee and lots and lots of shooting.
But it was apparently coach Silas that gave Miles the confidence to come out and actually sink a couple of shots.
"I have way more confidence in my outside shot now because of coach Silas," Miles said. "He told me to gain some confidence in my jumper or I'll be sitting next to him. I really don't want to sit next to him."
Around the League
How will the Jazz use that extra six to seven million in cap room they still have sitting around this season? Sorry Jazz fans, GM Kevin O'Connor has no intentions of using the money to get a veteran player to help the Jazz this season.
O'Connor told Insider (here in Salt Lake as part of our ESPN training camp tour) that the team is unlikely to pursue a trade that would add a veteran contributor to its roster. O'Connor said that the team really wants to get a sense of what it has from all of its young players first.
The team knows it will be difficult to make the playoffs with such a young squad. Adding a mid-level veteran via trade likely won't change the equation too much. So instead, O'Connor prefers to give his young guys a one-year audition.
Nuggets GM Kiki Vandeweghe did the same thing in Denver last season and the move appears to have paid off.
Mills
That doesn't mean the team is done dealing, however. Apparently, the Jazz have been talking to the Mavericks for several days about a trade that would send draft picks and forward Chris Mills (who has one year, $6.6 million left on his deal) to the Jazz.
Why would each team do it? For the Mavs, it saves them $13.2 million this season when you factor in luxury-tax payments. Mark Cuban hasn't been shy about paying the luxury tax, but no one likes to give away that much cash.
For the Jazz, it gives them the opportunity to stockpile even more draft picks without digging into their cap space for next season. What's the holdup? The Jazz probably want to see the Mills' medical reports first. If he's injured as badly as believed, the team could leave him on the injured list for the season and have insurance pick up 80 percent of his tab this season. If he's healthy, they may balk at the deal. Paying Mills' $6.6 million salary probably isn't worth what the Mavs are offering in return.
Is there trouble brewing in New Jersey? Alonzo Mourning ripped the Nets earlier in the week when he found out that the team was dumping Dikembe Mutombo and letting him go for free to their cross river nemesis the Knicks.
Now, Richard Jefferson is joining the fight. "It was not a very smart move," Jefferson said told the New York Post. "We're in the business of winning games. We understand financially that might have been better. If you're trying to sell the team it was a good move but how do you tell the guys, 'Hey, we're going to hurt your chances of winning a championship so we can save a little bit of money?' Isn't that kind of an oxymoron?"
That's not the only thing brewing in New Jersey. Two league sources told Insider that relationships between the Nets players and head coach Byron Scott are also strained. "A lot of them miss Eddie [Jordan]," one source told Insider. "He was the mediator. Without him there's more pressure on management to keep the peace. That's never good."
If the Nets get off to a slow start, or if Mourning isn't able to go because of his illness, don't be surprised if the Nets revolt.
Artest
Ron Artest picked up right where he left off on Wednesday, getting a technical in the first preseason game of the year. But at least Artest is progressing. This time the technical had nothing to do with Artest getting too physical on the court. According to Artest, he tried to joke around with the referee by not giving him the ball when he requested it.
Coach Rick Carlisle immediately pulled Artest out of the game. He wasn't laughing afterward.
"You can't get unnecessary technical fouls and survive on a consistent basis in this league and play at a playoff level," Carlisle told the Indianapolis Star. "It's one of the things we'll continue to work on and talk about. We'll be positive about it, but at the same time it's serious business."
Artest then took offense at Carlisle's ultra-serious reaction to the his antics.
"If I'm going to be taken out for stuff like that I'd rather not be in the game," he said. "I'd rather be with another team. I apologized to the ref and it was that simple. That's all it was."
With Artest now giving the Pacers the green light to trade him, you think Larry Bird is picking up the phone and trying to dump the talented, but eccentric two guard? Artest still has a lot of value in the league because of his defensive prowess, and neither Bird nor Carlisle has the patience for his immaturity.
This could be the straw that gets everyone in Indy their wish.
-------------------------------------------------
Peep Show
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Thursday, October 9
Updated: October 9
10:41 AM ET
New York Knicks: Head coach Don Chaney is hoping he can remove his foot from his mouth and inspire confidence in Charlie Ward and Howard Eisley at the same time after telling the media that his team still needed a "great point guard." "I love my point guards," Chaney said in the N.Y. Daily News. "I was referring to superstar guards. I think my guys know who they are and where they are. I apologized to them. I don't believe in saying those kind of things or doing anything to hurt them. I think we can win with what we have." Earlier in the week, Chaney said. "We've still don't have a great point guard yet . . . We've been looking for a great point guard for a long time and we're still looking."
New Jersey Nets: Richard Jefferson isn't calling his bosses stupid after they waived Dikembe Mutombo, but . . . "It was not a very smart move," Jefferson said in the New York Post. "We're in the business of winning games. We understand financially that might have been better. If you're trying to sell the team it was a good move but how do you tell the guys, 'Hey, we're going to hurt your chances of winning a championship so we can save a little bit of money?' Isn't that kind of an oxymoron?"
O'Neal
Los Angeles Lakers: If Shaquille O'Neal doesn't get his $100 million extension, then somebody's gonna have to pay. "I think I can go seven, eight more years," he said in the L.A. Times. "This game is fun. It's what I do. I'll go about seven or eight. Seven or eight, easily That's perfect. Then I can be sheriff and I can arrest your [butt] for writing that bull that you write." In between similar quotes, Shaq dismantled the Warriors frontline in their preseason game and took every opportunity to look at owner Jerry Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak in the stands and scream for his money. "I didn't mumble," he said. "You read my lips and you read them clearly."
Cleveland Cavaliers: For the second time since March, Dajuan Wagner has torn the same ligament in his right knee and will now require a second surgery to repair it. "We're not sure how long he'll be out," Cavaliers general manager Jim Paxson said to the Akron Beacon Journal. "It will depend on what they find when they go in. The tear is close to where he injured it before." He is expected to miss about six weeks of action.
Mashburn
New Orleans Hornets: Jamal Mashburn will be joining David Wesley on the bench as the two players succumbed to injuries prior to their opening exhibition games. "We're sitting him out as a precaution," coach Tim Floyd said of Mashburn in the Times-Picayune. "He has some swelling, and they're going to take another look at it on Monday." P.J. Brown also missed the game due to injury while Darrell Armstrong sprained his ankle during it.
Indiana Pacers: According to the referee, Ron Artest committed a technical foul for failing to hand over the game ball to him. According to Artest, he was just playing around in the team's preseason game. "He's (the referee) not from the park," Artest said in the Indianapolis Star. "He's never seen anything like that and it was a total shock. In the park you can do a lot of tricks like that and if you've got a good handle such as myself the ball's not going to come away from your hands. Obviously coach Carlisle and the referee have never seen anything like that in their life. He gave me a tech and coach took me out. I was just having fun."
