Is Darius Miles Even a Big Deal?

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! dropped a bombshell on the whole Darius Miles escapade: those six preseason games Miles played in for Boston counted toward the 10 which would "un-retire" Darius and stick his $9 million back on Portland's 2009-10 salary cap figure. The understanding, furthered by Woj, is that the cap addition would cripple Portland's summmertime spending spree. (Woj's assessment: "Darius Miles is on the brink of blowing up the Blazers' salary-cap space.")

But is that really the case? Are the Blazers screwed if Miles plays two more games this season? Dave Deckard of Blazers Edge doesn't think so. Let's look into the situation in detail.
Attention has been given to Portland's two Class of '06 stars -- Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge -- being eligible for extensions this summer. (I pointed it out Sunday.) But in reality, Roy and Aldridge don't matter at all. If Kevin Pritchard (pictured, above) signs both to max extensions, it doesn't affect Portland's cap space this summer one bit. These are Early Bird extensions we speak of -- they won't kick in until 2010-11. They have literally no effect on Portland's ability to spend money this summer under the league's cap rules. And as for the luxury tax in 2011 and beyond: do you think Paul Allen minds spending extra dough if he can build a dynasty? One owner in all of the NBA can be counted on to sacrifice cash for a winner no matter the world economy, and that guy's Paul Allen.

The team currently has two players due to enter restricted free agency this summer: Channing Frye and Ike Diogu. The forwards might be minor prizes elsewhere, but stand as completely superfluous parts on a Blazers team with an embarrassment of riches in the frontcourt. Neither forward figures into Portland's long-term plans, and it would be nothing for Pritchard to renounce their rights on July 1 (if he doesn't trade them first). In all likelihood, Frye nor Diogu will be drawing Paul Allen paychecks next season. (Though the Seahawks could probably use Diogu at linebacker and Frye as a receiver.)

DraftExpress is the most accurate source for player contracts. According to DX, the Blazers currently have $40 million spent for '09-10 between Roy, Aldridge, Martell Webster (who signed a four-year, $20 million deal this summer), Travis Outlaw, Steve Blake, Jerryd Bayless, Greg Oden, Joel Przybilla, Nicolas Batum, Sergio Rodriguez and Rudy Fernandez. Portland will immediately renounce the rights to Raef LaFrentz (if he hasn't already been traded or bought out), and I suspect Diogu and (probably) Frye will be renounced quickly, should Pritchard want to get into the hunt from Day 1.

The 2009-10 salary cap should be roughly $60 million. That would leave Portland $20 million to play with on free agents. For that amount, you can land the biggest prize on the market (if one exists). You could trade Batum (a $1 million player) for a $20 million superstar on some team looking to cut costs in advance of the Summer of 2010. With $20 million in cap space, the world's one giant fricking oyster.

But add the Darius Miles Experience back on the cap ... and well, now you have $11 million in cap space. That wouldn't have gotten you Elton Brand or Baron Davis last summer. That's barely Corey Maggette. You could take a trade in the mold of Marcus Camby-for-nothing ... but not, say, Andrei Kirilenko-for-nothing. To get a superstar, you're relinquishing players -- Webster or Outlaw or Przybilla or Blake. Things aren't so easy when almost half your cap space goes boom.

Pritchard's creative and active, and no matter what happens it will be an exciting summer in Portland. The Blazers will almost certainly get a good player by virtue of its cap space. But there's a reason the franchise allegedly badmouthed Miles before training camp. There's a reason that (according to Woj) although Portland knew the preseason games counted, the front office kept it mum.

Miles can't obliterate Portland's fun, but he can shrink it considerably. Those two games matter.

(It should be noted that this has been thoroughly covered in the Blazersphere. But Miles has demanded so much attention that the actual facts of the matter deserve as big an audience and as thorough a vetting as possible.)