Friday, July 24, 2009

Point-less: Andre Miller bolts to Portland

West Coast here he comes. After the Sixers pulled their offer off the table, the obvious became fact: Andre Miller wasn't coming back to Philly. The veteran point guard wanted a multi-year deal, something the Sixers weren't willing to give him, and he made it clear he wanted to go back West and leave Philly in the dust. Miller got his wish today, signing a two or three year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers worth somewhere between 6 and 8 million dollars. Despite all the rumors of possible sign-and-trade deals for Miller, the Sixers will get nothing in return. The Blazers were far enough below the salary cap that they didn't have to move anyone.

Miller's story is much like the recently departed Flyer Martin Biron, he was a solid player that the team really liked, but he wasn't worth the money or the years that he wanted. Miller was a great veteran presence who will be sorely missed by the Sixers, who now face an immediate future of Lou Williams and Jrue Holiday at point guard. It will be interesting to see if the Sixers will be able to function as well offensively without a heady point guard like Miller running the show.

By all accounts, it's a pretty good signing for the Blazers, a solid team that isn't quite elite. They may not win a championship with Miller, but he's certainly an upgrade over Steve Blake. For the second time this week, the city of Philly loses a good guy and a good teammate. The Flyers at least had a plan for how to replace Biron, I'm less confident that the Sixers have any idea what they are doing.

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