Miller finalizing deal with Portland
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Miller finalizing deal with Portland
Andre Miller's agent, Andy Miller, has confirmed that within 24 hours Andre Miller will be a Portland Trailblazer.
Andy Miller said the two parties are "finalizing" the deal today and it should become official within 24 hours. His client, who has been the 76ers starting point guard for the last 2-1/2 seasons, will receive a deal that one source said was "an improvement" over the deal the Sixers were offering, which was reportedly in the 1-year/$6 million range.
Yesterday, Sixers General Manager Ed Stefanski removed the team's offer to Miller, essentially ending any chance of Miller returning to the Sixers. Last season, Miller started all 88 games (82 regular season, 6 playoff) at point guard, averaging 16.3 points and 6.5 assists a game.
A call to Stefanski went unanswered.
Stefanski has said (since free agency's official opening in early July) that he was worried about re-signing Miller to a longer contract because of his age (33) and the team's young nucleus. Stefanski said it might not been in the best interest of the organization to tether itself to an aging point guard. Now, with Miller all but signed and delivered to the West Coast, that leaves combo guard Lou Williams and rookie Jrue Holiday as the team's current options at PG.
Of course, the Sixers are looking at a number of current NBA free agents, many of them point guards, who could come in and provide relief, and experience, at that position.
--Kate
Comment removed.
at least we have closure— C-Bent- SO the 76ers get nothing for Miller? They draft a point guard with "upside" and get nothing for Miller. No sign-and-trade. No trade at Feb. deadline last season. Nothing. Nice job, Ed. It's hard as a fan to accept this.— 76er
- Tough news. Andre won a few games by himelf by hitting pivotal baskets or helping to rally the team in closing moments. For all the talk about Lou playing point, I remember many times where Andre had to get off the bench in the third or fourth quarters to turn things around or stop the runs by opposing teams -- because Lou wasn't cutting it that particular night. This team has remaining talent but no wiggle room. With his game management skills, Andre helped compensate for missing players in the past and I can't imagine how that will be replaced.— jimmy76er
- Good. Now keep losing pieces till they can get a lottery pick.— HandNik
- Getting nothing reflects on mgmt and their inability to manage. I find it very frustrating that they could not see this coming (meaning, they were never going to pay him) and trade him last year.— psuwelsh
- good, now get a vet that fits the new system and let lou and he fight for playing time. let the games begin!— russ4philly
- This falls under the category of who cares. They would stink with him; they will stink worse without him. Would you spend your hard earned money to see this? PG - Lou SG - Iggy C- Sammy PF - Elton ST -Thaddeus Bench - Green,Speights,Smith,Holiday and whatever one year retreads they can sign. It smells like 20-25 wins this year. This year has disaster written all over it.— syddan26
- Now the axe has been laid to the root!— rayzoe
- "Of course, the Sixers are looking at a number of current NBA free agents, many of them point guards, who could come in and provide relief, and experience, at that position."..... like who? who you do like best out of everyone we're looking at? provide some insight next time please. 6ers are gonna blow this year.— drumminge6
- the sixers need to tank this year, get a stud in next years draft, and they are good to go.— johnnysanz3
- I agree with 26 - this year has disaster written all over it. Every contending team in the east just got stronger in the off-season - while the Sixers got Andrew Kopono and a 19 year old unproven point guard. Oh, and a new (old) logo. Nice work, Ed!— Fozzie27
- This all but asures them a lottery pick for next years draft...one that should be much deeper then this past years draft. I like it in a way. Yeah this year is going to be a struggle but the team is so young that with time to mature and learn the neuances of the game and and added peice here or there next year we should be a championship contender.— traugdog420
- I never understood why they didn't trade Miller either of the past 2 seasons at the trade deadline. In my opinion, if you are not going to with the title in the NBA (and it's pretty obvious that only a few can) then you need to do whatever you can to add talent. I still have no idea why they thought that having a PG who was miserable in Philly and who could play no defense was better than trading him for future assets to continue to improve for the future.— m23haz
- andre who?— lmonzo
John Mitchell is in his second year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
