UPDATE: It looks like the Grizzlies have signed Darius Miles, ignoring the threat from Portland.  I'm tired of talking about it right now so click on over to read the ESPN report.

According to ESPN, the NBA player's union plans to file a greivance against the Portland Trail Blazers.  It is now becoming the biggest story anywhere on a day where I suppose the Celtics playing the Cavaliers should have been the NBA news. I guess if Darius really wants to play, and is able to, he should be allowed to pursue the game.

But I still don't have much sympathy for a guy who will get paid ridiculous jack for doing nothing, who didn't give a crap about Portland when he was here and was able to be a member of the community.  I think he took everything for granted prior to the prognosis from the league appointed doctor, and now that he is almost out of the league he really does want to play.  I hope there is a rational conclusion to all of this, right now I can't see any end in sight.

I do however like this part from the ESPN article, Mark Cuban has our backs:

Although the Blazers have exposed themselves to censure from the league office for the tone of their note to fellow teams regarding Miles -- as well as the hostile reaction from the players' union -- one team did express some sympathy for their position Friday.

"It's a lot of money," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told ESPN.com on Friday, referring to millions in future salary-cap space that the Blazers could lose if Miles' contract is restored to Portland's payroll.

"For that much, I would be sending e-mails, too."

Video below courtest of Ben at Blazer's Edge.

Veryearly this morning, Sports Illustrated dropped a bomb regarding news of the Darius Miles situation.  Apparently the Blazers released a letter to other NBA teams saying you better not sign Darius. My first thought was, good job Portland, way to be tough.  Then I thought about the possible backlash and the hate we all might soon be hearing. I'm still at a loss and not able to write more, so I'll let Dave at Blazer's Edge give you the full scoop. Here's the letter too:

"Team Presidents and General Managers,

"The Portland Trail Blazers are aware that certain teams may be contemplating signing Darius Miles to a contract for the purpose of adversely impacting the Portland Trail Blazers Salary Cap and tax positions. Such conduct from a team would violate its fiduciary duty as an NBA joint venturer. In addition, persons or entities involved in such conduct may be individually liable to the Portland Trail Blazers for tortuously interfering with the Portland Trail Blazers' contract rights and perspective economic opportunities.

"Please be aware that if a team engages in such conduct, the Portland Trail Blazers will take all necessary steps to safeguard its rights, including, without limitation, litigation."

When it comes to the Trail Blazers, there are multiple thoughts that bounce around in my head.  Some come and go, others are merely fleeting thoughts, but then there are those that just won't go away.  My feelings on Jerryd Bayless won't go away.  Since he played at Arizona and made his way up the NBA draft board, I've been all about this guy.  Watching him play alongside Chase Budinger at Arizona, I began to enjoy Jerryd's game immensely. In high school Jerryd was a super star and it wasn't much different at Arizona.  When Lute Olson left the team and the offense changed, Bayless was asked to play more of a shooting guard, in reality he was a combo guard with a brighter future as a passer.

As the 2008 NBA draft approached, I remember constantly scanning NBAdraft.net, Oregon Live, & anything else I could get my hands on. I decided early on that Bayless was the best fit for Portland.  Westbrook, Augustin and Chalmers were all certainly options, but I wanted Bayless.  As the draft loomed, Bayless was towards the top of the point guard list. During the draft, Jerryd started to fall and when we managed to get him, my excitement could not be contained, the Trail Blazers final piece was here in my opinion.

As we all know Jerryd tore up the summer league, winning MVP and looking extremely proficient as a scorer.  It was still unclear whether he'd get much playing time as a rookie with two other point guards who had earned their minutes for Portland.

Fast forward to earlier this week, through 34 games of the season, Bayless hadn't really played much.  He'd gotten garbage time, but in those spurts he looked overwhelmed and skittish.  He was going to need serious playing time in order to get accustomed to the NBA. It took another game without Roy and an opponent like Allen Iverson to finally get Bayless more than just a few minutes, he'd be called upon to stop A.I.

If you looked at the stat line for Wednesday night's game against Detroit you wouldn't think much of what Jerryd accomplished. 8 points on 2-6 shooting from the floor, 4-4 from the free throw line, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 17 minutes. LaMarcus had the big game, not Jerryd. If you read the recap or listened to the post game, you'd know that Outlaw hit the game winning shot, not Bayless.  What Jerryd did that was so important, was turn the team around in the 3rd quarter, similar to what Brandon would try to do. Jerryd started taking it to the hoop, drew fouls, and started to get emotional, which was something Portland was lacking in the first half.  Jerryd showed us an ability to get to the hoop, athletic ability with 2 steals and one impressive dunk, and overall got the game going in the right direction.

The bottom line is that Jerryd Bayless needs to play more. Oden and Batum have been playing all year and although they've had rough patches, things are getting better for each of those rookies. The question is how do we get Bayless more run?  It starts by giving Sergio less time.  I like Sergio, I think he is good for Rudy, but Sergio is one-dimensional and a liability on defense. Sergio's shot is slightly better this year, but he still looks to pass even when he is point blank for a lay-in. There have been times this year where Steve Blake couldn't keep up with his man, but Bayless most certainly would have.  Most of the criticism abut Jerryd is his shoot first mentality on a team full of young stars. I think he's well aware of his need to be a distributor and I've seen that happen at times when he does actually play.

The future I envision starts with Bayless and Roy in the backcourt. The great thing about those two together is that both should compliment each other so well.  Bayless can handle point guard duties early on in games, while Roy will most certainly become the captain of the offense down the stretch.  Bayless can guard the opposing point guard with no worries about saving energy for offense.  The important part about this scenario is that it can happen a lot sooner then most are expecting.

For years we've waited for Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster to mature, but Bayless is much further along in his development then they ever were.  Bayless, given the opportunity for more minutes this year, will be ready to contribute next year.  I see him as our starter by the end of next year.  Steve Blake becomes the second man off the bench and this would probably mean Sergio is gone.  But at some point, someone's gotta go and there is no way it's Jerryd... he's just too stacked with potential.

Now, on a lighter note, what should Jerryd's nickname be? I've seen different things floating around the internet and it appears B-Rex is the frontrunner according to Blazer's Edge readers and even Wikipedia. There is also Scrappy from Scooby Doo, or even other names like JBay, JB, etc, etc. Anything but Playless! Let me know what you think his nickname should be, chime in below and even add a name in the comments if the choices don't fit your fancy. Sooner or later our point situation will change.  The faster we get Bayless going, the sooner our future success will arrive.

BaB reader Adam let me know that the courtside crew had actually read my follow-up e-mail about requesting an interview with Mike Rice.  Here's the follow-up, I love these guys.

Last night, Darius Miles was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies.  That's him confirming which way to the exit.  This partially insures no hard feelings towards Memphis from the Blazers organization.  It also proves to a degree that Darius can't play, even for a bad NBA team.  I will never forget the first time I heard about Miles, freshman year of college I saw the Sports Illustrated magazine cover with him and KG on the front.  I always thought he wouldn't be as good as KG and as it turned out, he went in a very different direction.

I was never happy that Darius was in Portland, his attitude stunk and he always felt he deserved to be treated like a super-star, when he didn't even play like one.  Besides the salary issues relating to Miles I would like him to stop attempting to get back at the Trail Blazers.  The Doctor was right, the knee is wrecked, time to take all that unearned money and put it to good use, elsewhere.

UPDATE: Rule clarification moves Portland two Darius Miles games away from disaster.