NBA: Darius Miles looking to make comeback

Darius Miles, the 6-9, 28 year old forward, is looking to get back into the NBA. But before we get into that, let's look back at his career and see what went wrong.

Miles was picked 3rd overall by the Los Angeles Clippers out of high school in the 2000 NBA Draft. He averaged 9 points and 6 rebounds in his first two seasons with the Clips.

In 2002, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Andre Miller. He played 104 games with the Cavs in two seasons averaging about 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists per game.

Midway through the 2003-2004 season, he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. He played 2 and a half seasons with the Blazers and had his ups and downs in Portland.
Ups: In April of 2005, he scored a career-high 47 points in a game against the Denver Nuggets. He averaged a career-best 14 points per game with the Blazers during the 2005-2006 season. Downs: In January of 2005, he verbally insulted Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks with racial slurs and was suspended. In 2006, he injured his knee and missed the next 2 seasons due to surgery.

In 2008, he almost made the Boston Celtics team, but was waived before the regular season started.

He played 34 games with the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2008-2009 season averaging 3 points and 2 rebounds per game.

After his time with the Grizzlies ended, he hasn't been in the NBA since.......but Miles could be back. He recently scored 26 points in a charity basketball game and said, "This is the best I've felt in five years." He was also a member of the Charlotte Bobcats 2010 Summer League team, but didn't play in any of their games.

Hopefully he can land a spot on an NBA roster for the 2010-2011 season. I wish him well.

Links:
Darius Miles Career Stats Page http://www.nba.com/playerfile/darius_miles/career_stats.html
Darius Miles (Wikipedia) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darius_Miles

Lance Stephenson: Rockin' the 2010 NBA Summer League

When I heard that Lance Stephenson had applied for the 2010 NBA Draft, I thought that he was making a mistake. I thought he should do another year at Cincinnati before going to the NBA. I had a feeling that he might go undrafted, get drafted really late, or play poorly in his rookie season. Overall, I thought that he had a chance of turning out like Omar Cook.

When the Indiana Pacers drafted him in the 2nd round (40th overall), I was annoyed that he wasn't drafted by the Knicks with the 38th or 39th pick, but I was happy for him. I had unsure predictions on his future with the Pacers and the NBA, but he had passed the first NBA test: getting drafted.

After that I waited until I could see him play in the summer league. He has played 3 games so far in Orlando for the Indiana Pacers Summer League Team, and he has exceeded expectations and played very well. Look at the stats:
July 5 vs. Orlando Magic----21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and made 8 of 10 field goals
July 6 vs. New Jersey Nets----15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and made 7 of 10 field goals
July 7 vs. Utah Jazz----19 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, and made 6 of 8 field goals
Overall (3 games)---18.3 points per game, 3 rebounds per game, 2 assists per game, 0.7 blocks per game, 0.3 steals per game, and has made 21 of 28 field goals (75% field goal percentage

It may not seem that spectacular until you compare him to Evan Turner (the 2nd overall pick in the draft) and Derrick Favors (the 3rd pick).
Evan Turner: 9.7 points per game 35% field goal percentage
Derrick Favors: 8 points per game 43% field goal percentage
Lance Stephenson: 18.3 points per game 75% field goal percentage

Stephenson is statisticly playing better than them. I had my doubts, along with a lot of other people, but he proved us wrong. I guess he really was "Born Ready."

Also, at this moment, Lance Stephenson is ranked number 1 on the NBA.com Rookie Ladder. Blake Griffin and John Wall better watch out.

Links:
NBA.com Rookie Ladder http://www.nba.com/rookieladder/
NBA.com Lance Stephenson Summer League Profile http://www.nba.com/summerleague2010/players/lance_stephenson/index.html

NBA Jerseys: 14 Great & 8 Not-So-Great

Here are my favorite and least favorite NBA basketball jeresys of the past and present:

Great:

14. Washington Wizards Current Alternate Gold Jersey


13. Miami Heat Current Alternate Red Jersey


12. Toronto Raptors 1996 Purple Away Jersey


11. Memphis Grizzlies Current White Home Jersey


10. Minnesota Timberwolves 2006 Black Jersey


9.. Detriot Pistons Current Alternate Red Jersey


8. Washington Bullets 1996 Jerseys (They never should have changed to the Wizards.)


7. Philadelphia 76ers 2006 Black Away Jersey


6. Cleveland Cavs 2002 Home Jersey


5. Orlando Magic 2002 Blue Away Jersey


4. Denver Nuggets 2002 Navy Away Jersey


3. Houston Rockets 2002 Navy Away Jersey


2. Milwaukee Bucks 1997 Green Alternate Jersey


1. Atlanta Hawks 2006 Yellow Alternate Jersey


Not-So-Great:

8. Oklahoma City Thunder Current Light Blue Away Jersey


7. San Antonio Spurs Current Black Away Jersey


6. Orlando Magic 2006 Blue Away Jersey


5. Charlotte Bobcats 2006 Jerseys


4. Memphis Grizzlies Current Light Blue Alternate Jersey


3. Golden State Warriors Current "San Francisco" Yellow Alternate Throwback Jersey


2. Houston Rockets Current Red & Yellow Alternate Jersey


1. Toronto Raptors Current White "Huskies" Alternate Throwback Jersey


Comment on if you agree or dissagre with my opinions on jerseys.