1. Jamaal Magloire was initially the focus of this recent post by Kelly Dwyer. I encourage you to read it because it reminded me of Boston's most recent move. Ultimately Dwyer acknowledges that Magloire is a recognizable name. Hell he even made an All-Star team. Yet there are cheaper, younger, hungrier options out there that could improve over time. That's where it goes beyond just Magloire and applies to numerous players. Granted Miles is by no means old - he'll be 27 in October. He should be entering his prime. Yet his knee did not get the memo. And even if he does return to form, which seems unlikely, it is important to remember that Miles was not an Amare Stoudemire type talent. Few are. More importantly any way you look at it Miles has a lot of money coming his way from that ill-fated Trail Blazers deal. So money can't be his motive. Does he love the game? Does he have the necessary work ethic? I have to admit I like the idea of a guy at the end of the bench who is desperate and will fight for any and everything he gets. Basically a guy with a Leon Powe type mentality. And if I don't know his name right now so be it. Of course Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers know a lot more than me and have proven me wrong before. Additionally, for every Jamario Moon success story there are a lot more Brandon Wallace, Jackie Manuel, etc. stories.
* I chose Stoudemire because he successfully returned from microfracture surgery.
2. Over the course of the day a couple of visitors from Blazers Edge have raised the idea that this could be awful for the Celtics from a reputation point of view. The argument is that other players would view Boston negatively if Miles had another injury because the organization did not have the best interests of players in mind. That's a tough one. I don't know anything about the independent doctor and Miles' medical retirement. But if Miles can pass a physical with the Celtics and can hold his own against other players doesn't he deserve a shot? They're not forcing him to play. Interesting.
3. I want to preface this by saying that I don't believe the issue I am about to raise is going on in any way, shape, or form. It just popped in my head and I figured it would be worth mentioning. Given the Trailblazers' cap situation and numerous assets (seriously they're loaded with good, young talent) doesn't Miles' situation have the potential for some blackmail? I can't imagine that would happen. I'm not even sure how another team would go about getting the message across. Furthermore, Miles would obviously be outraged if he suspected such a thing. And if it did happen, it would be worse than what the Minnesota Timberwolves did with Joe Smith. And we all know how David Stern reacted to that. Now that would be one hell of a scandal and the NBA blogosphere would possibly explode. Once again I don't think this is going on.
4. It's good to be a Celtics themed blog again.