PORTLAND, Ore. — Trail Blazers president Larry Miller believes rival teams are considering signing Darius Miles not because he can help on the court, but because it would hurt Portland in the wallet.
“Our issue is if a team is trying to do something malicious to hurt us financially,” Miller said Friday on a conference call, less than a day after sending an e-mail threatening teams with legal action if they add the former Blazers forward who is attempting a comeback from major knee surgery.
A comeback that could potentially be very expensive for the Blazers.
If Miles plays in two more games this season, Portland would be on the hook for $18 million — the amount remaining on Miles’ contract, which would count against Portland’s salary cap and force the team to pay luxury tax.
So Miller defended his aggressive action, even after the players’ association announced plans to file a grievance against the Trail Blazers over it.
“Our purpose here was not in any way to keep Darius from being able to play,” Miller said. “If he can come back and help a team to win and play at a level on the court that helps the team, we have no problem with that at all.
Miller sent the e-mail to fellow NBA executives Thursday night, aware that Miles was due to clear waivers Friday.
“We were hearing a lot of rumblings and rumors that there were teams out there planning to sign Darius Miles specifically and maliciously to hurt our organization,” Miller said. “This was our way of responding to that and letting folks know that we were not going to take it sitting down.”
The players’ association won’t, either.
“We are shocked at the brazen attempt by the Portland Trail Blazers to try to prevent Darius Miles from continuing his NBA career,” players’ association director Billy Hunter said in a statement.
“Their attempt to intimidate the other teams by threatening frivolous litigation merely for signing this capable NBA veteran is a clear violation of the anti-collusion and other provisions of our Collective Bargaining Agreement. We will vigorously defend Darius’ rights.”
Notes
Barkley takes leave of absence
Charles Barkley is taking a leave of absence from the broadcast booth.
The announcement by Turner Sports came Friday, hours after police said the 45-year-old former NBA star was legally drunk when he was arrested Dec. 31 on suspicion of drunken driving in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Test results show Barkley had a blood-alcohol level of .149 percent, nearly twice the legal limit of .08 percent in Arizona.
Barkley will be off the air for a minimum of several weeks, and no return date has been set.
Nets’ Yi breaks finger
MILWAUKEE — Nets forward Yi Jianlian will miss three to four weeks after breaking the pinkie finger on his right hand late in the third quarter in New Jersey’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.
Yi said he hurt himself playing defense when he reached for the ball and got his finger caught. He said he heard it pop after trying to take the ball from Michael Redd.
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