Tumbling Dice

Oy.  That’s my initial reaction to the news today that the Boston Celtics have signed former clubhouse cancer Darius Miles to a contract, reaching out to a player who hasn’t played pro basketball in almost two full years.  Just to clarify, Miles now has the opportunity to compete for a spot in the Celtics’ rotation; it is far from certain that he will make the team or even play for the Celtics next year. 

But the Celtics have signed him, which despite turning my stomach worse than a burrito from the Original Taco House on Powell has nonetheless piqued my curiosity about the tantalizingly talented and consistently frustrating player’s potential role with the Boston Celtics.  Most of you out there (if there are still any of you) probably don’t know much about Darius Miles, but as somebody who’s been in Portland to watch him play (and because you asked, Dad), I figure that I’m as good a source as any to enlighten you all about the 6’9” swingman from East St. Louis, Missouri.

Miles was drafted third overall in the 2000 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers (danger, Will Robinson! Danger!) and hails from East St. Louis High School.  At one point, Darius was the highest drafted high school player ever before Kwame Brown ruined the party for everybody by going first overall the next year.  Darius spent two seasons in Los Angeles, making the All Rookie first team in 2001 before getting traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers and then to the Portland Trailblazers during the 2003-2004 season.  Miles played just a little bit over a season for Portland before hurting his knee and having microfracture surgery, a procedure that has kept him sidelined for the past two years. 

Before his injury, Darius Miles was an explosive athlete, flying high for powerful dunks and insane shot blocks at will.  He has incredibly long arms and a great physique, making him a versatile player capable of guarding multiple positions on the court and creating frustrating mismatches for the opponents who had to check him during the game.  When playing at small forward, Miles could often out muscle his defender and cause problems on the interior with his long arms and superhuman leaping ability.  At power forward, he was often able to blow by his defender, again creating match-up problems for opposing coaches. 

Additionally, Miles is still very young (he’ll be 27 on October 9th of this year) and should be just starting to hit the prime years of his NBA career.  Before his injury, Miles was showing some signs of improvement, and in 2004-05, he posted his best season, averaging 13 points on 48% shooting (35% from behind the arc), 4.7 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 1.2 blocks and 2 assists per game.  Although the numbers aren’t eye popping, it was by far his most efficient and productive season in the NBA, and his game was showing significant signs of improvement throughout the year.  Punctuating this season was a 47-point outburst against the Denver Nuggets (the Blazers lost) that showed a flash of the possibilities of his career.  That single game line: 47 points on 19 of 33 shooting, 8 of 14 from the free-throw line, one of three from distance, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 steals and only one turnover. 
That game was a glimpse of the swingman’s full potential, and unfortunately, it seems to have been one isolated flash in the pan.  Because despite (and it often seems to be in spite of) his considerable physical gifts, Darius Miles has struggled everywhere he’s been in the NBA with his attitude, work ethic, and consistency.  He has all of the physical tools to be an elite NBA player, however he seems to lack the maturity and dedication to really refine and expand his game.  As a result, he’s chafed under every coach he’s played for and has constantly struggled to be an effective presence on the court.  To put it mildly, his game has more holes in it than Andrew Wilson’s short-term memory (zing!).

First and foremost, Darius Miles can’t shoot a lick, and that is a kind appraisal.  For his career, he’s converted less than 17% of his three point attempts.  That’s worse than Vin Baker (21.5% career average), Eddy Curry (he’s 2 for 2 in his career!), DeSagana Diop (20% career average) and only half as good as Brian Scalabrine (34.5% career average), in case any of you were wondering.  And it gets worse, because despite Miles’ respectable career average of 47% shooting, I would gladly testify under oath that his midrange jumper is more suspect than the vast majority of the wonderful characters that loiter around my house in our new neighborhood (days without being solicited for crack: 6 and counting).  

In addition to his shooting woes, Darius is also a sub par rebounder for somebody with his size, length and athleticism.  For a guy with a 7-foot wingspan and a forty inch vertical jump (at least!), his career average of just over 5 boards a game is disappointing and seems to me to indicate a lack of hustle, desire and/or instincts, all of which are discouraging warning signs.  Part of Miles’ poor rebounding could be attributed for his affinity for the shot block, however his career average of just 1.2 blocks per contest doesn’t impress enough to make his rebounding deficiency palatable.

Speaking of shot blocking, I can tell you from watching him play years ago that Darius gambled far too often going for blocks, often failing to box out opponents or simply goaltending way too much and giving the other team free points.  While it was always thrilling to watch him fly through the air and tip a shot that Darius seemingly had no chance of getting, he did more harm than good more often than not. 

Also, blocking shots does not an effective defender make.  As far as disturbing opponents with his length and stellar quickness for his size, Miles never really impressed me or showed sufficient skill to be considered among the NBA’s elite defenders.  Most of the NBA’s best defenders play smart defense, relying on their brains instead of their physique (Bill Russell will totally back me up on this one) to force uncomfortable shots and shut down opponents.  Darius simply does not have the basketball IQ to do this (or at least he hasn’t shown it yet), and I don’t think that it’s something that he can learn at this point in his career.

Lastly, Miles’ work ethic and attitude have been questioned (rightly so) everywhere he’s been, perhaps the biggest red flag of all for any GM trying to keep an elite team in contention for a title.  While it’s true that the attitudes of KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce may very well rub off on Darius a little bit, I don’t think that any amount of leadership is enough to repair six seasons of malaise and poor focus.  In fact, as solid as the Celtics’ teamwork, chemistry and effort was last season, I’d actually be afraid of the corrosive effect Miles could have on the rest of the roster. 

Even though some people have recklessly compared Miles to James Posey because of his versatility and ability to play multiple positions, that is where the comparisons stop.  Unlike Miles, James Posey can shoot from the perimeter, rebound, and play some of the toughest and smartest defense in the Association.  Furthermore, Posey did (and does) all of that with a great attitude and hard work, unlike the moody Miles.  Oh yeah, and James Posey has a lengthy track record of postseason success and experience on his résumé as well, whereas Darius Miles has appeared in exactly zero NBA playoff games in his six year career. 

Some (cough, cough, John Canzano, cough, cough) have toyed with the idea of this signing as a petty way for the Celtics to stick it to the Blazers and eat their cap flexibility in the future.  However, as Dave (not me) from BlazersEdge has already written, even if Portland has to pay the rest of Miles’ contract, they’ll still have plenty of flexibility to make whatever moves they want in the near future.  Besides, would the Celtics and Danny Ainge really be that interested in messing with the Blazers, a team in a different conference at the periphery of the playoffs?  I don’t think so, not for the costs that would be incurred in the process. 

To me it is pretty clear why Ainge made this move (as it should be to most semi-aware basketball fans).  Signing Miles is a no risk, high reward gamble with the house’s money (no John, I don’t mean Paul Allen’s money.  We’re in an isolated corner of the country, nobody’s gunning for you!).  Miles is talented for sure, and the Celtics just signed him to a dirt cheap NONGUARANTEED contract, meaning that if things don’t work out, the Celtics don’t have to keep Darius or pay him anything.  All the Celtics lose is a roster spot, which they have plenty of, so it’s not that big of a deal for the team to give Miles an extended look and see if he can still play.

And if Darius can still play, then the Celtics just beefed up their bench on the cheap and snagged a former top ten pick for a bottom of the barrel price.  There have been some murmurs from the Celtics that Darius is in good shape and has been performing quite well in his workouts with the Celtics (this could be an elaborate smokescreen), which is great for Miles and for the Celtics.  People can change, and maybe after being out of the league for 2+ seasons, Miles has finally figured some things out and is ready to actually commit to being a professional (emphasis on professional) basketball player.  As always, the talent is there, whether or not the oft injured and troubled forward can put things together in the next couple of months will surely be interesting to watch and exciting for basketball fans on both coasts.