| Who Needs To Go? Authored by Billy Ray - January 31, 2005 - 3:07 pm
When all seemed quiet in Blazerland and the worst news on the front page was another loss there was a small since of relief. Despite the harsh times the team was still displaying strong unity, and players were playing up to expectations and well beyond. Sprinkle a few wins on the situation and it could turn downright nice.
But then the silence was pierced as a racial epithet was hurled at head coach Maurice Cheeks. The silence was pierced multiple times, as more harsh words were slung; destroying what looked like a bit of peaceful existence amongst the Blazers.
Darius Miles after receiving what might be deemed as ‘excessive criticism’ or ‘constructive criticism’ depending on who you ask, was letting his feelings known to his coach—in the most inappropriate of fashions.
There is little need to know exactly what caused Miles to spring into the inappropriate behavior. More importantly may be why it happened, and how to prevent it in the future.
Sadly, the secret of ‘why’ may never be fully known. So the Blazers are left with how to keep the problem from happening again.
Suspending Miles is a start, but it only delays the real issue: Can Cheeks and Miles coexist? Is Miles destined to partake in a Bonzi-esque exit? Or is it Cheeks that will be exiting stage right?
On one side of the coin are Cheeks and his future. Fans and seemingly management are growing restless watching the Blazers bumble through broken plays out of timeouts, force errant shots instead of running a semblance of a play, and then seemingly taking each loss as if it were not a big deal.
Coming into the season Cheeks was on the hot seat. After being the first coach of the Blazers to miss the playoffs in 21 seasons the coach was destined to be under the microscope the following season. Cheeks had yet to lead the team out of the first round, though he came close against the Mavericks in 2002-2003. While Cheeks has been lauded in some circles for getting more out of his team than many thought possible, the Blazers are still arguably a well-underachieving team.
On the other side of the coin is Miles. Despite having more physical gifts than most 2 or 3 people put together, Miles has yet to put those gifts together for himself, only displaying flashes of his complete potential while coasting through practices.
Miles has not been known to take criticism lightly, erring on the side of taking criticism personally instead. Combine that with a penchant to coast through practices and sometimes games, while also not putting much effort in getting better in the off-season and it begins to look like the makings of a coach’s nightmare.
So now the Blazers face a tough choice. Do the Blazers push Cheeks out the door and keep Miles which could show fans and the other players that it’s ok to rip your coach personally?
Do the Blazers push Miles out the door and lose a player that was hoped to be a cornerstone of the franchise, in favor of a coach that is fighting for the right to keep his job for one more year?
Do the Blazers try to bring the two back together and salvage a coachable relationship? That could work, but can both men move past the issue permanently?
Or do the Blazers part with both, opting to trade Miles at the nearest opportunity and dump Cheeks soon after or at the end of the year?
The Blazers have a difficult choice to make. Be loyal to a coach that has given his best, or be loyal to a player that could be around longer?
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