Less than 24 hours after Portland warned NBA teams not to touch Darius Miles or risk possible legal action, the Grizzlies called their bluff and signed DM to a 10-day contract. If he plays in two games, the remaining $18 million of his previous contract with Portland goes back on the Blazers' salary cap. Eek. Here's what they're saying out in the ether about it all ...

The Sporting Blog: "Apparently I grossly underestimated just how grudging respect for KP had been, how much he was seen as equal parts brilliant and smug. This Miles stuff was the last straw, the culmination of several seasons worth of ambivalence toward Pritchard. For any other general manager, it would have been awkward. In this case, it was not only embarrassing — it was just the misstep others had been waiting for."

Blazer's Edge: "It is very, very, very unlikely the Blazers will end up suing the Grizzlies or any one else over Darius. This was a unanimous conclusion among everyone I talked to (10+ people). That was my understanding going into the arena tonight based on conversations I've had and nothing tonight led me to believe that there was a good chance things will change. Of course, anything is possible; but if you want to simply call that email an epic fail and move on with your life, I think you should feel very confident in doing so. Unless the Blazers have access to a "smoking gun" (some evidence that the Grizzlies' sole intention in playing Miles is to screw with the Blazers) this legal chapter is done. And it should be: the team is better off focusing on presenting their appeal to the league. Given the circumstances, it seems like an appeal might have a reasonable chance of succeeding."

Sports On My Mind: "[Team President] Larry Miller has learned that the NBA is not the NFL, where, win or lose big, owners still can garner enormous profits through means other than winning and filling their stadiums. In the NBA with its guaranteed player contracts, putting an exciting product on the floor, winning games, and filling the arena is a must. And though league commissioner David Stern has turned more conservative, backing off his 'player’s first' stance of the halcyon days of the NBA, the paradigm shift in league-wide attitude and philosophy toward players in image based and not inextricably tied to the flow of money through the sport."

Beyond The Beat: "As someone who covers the league, I couldn’t but help think about Portland’s position in all of this the past few days — well, at least since Friday. How hard will it be now for Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard to work the phones — knowing what has transpired regarding Darius Miles (that’s the last time you will hear Miles’ name mentioned, I swear) — and not feel that will play a factor into how other front offices respond? He won’t be communicating via e-mail. This much we know."

The Rip City Project (comments): "... a priceless comment on ESPN regarding the so-called Darius situation: 'To follow the Taco Bell allegory, it would be like ordering a taco and the guy sayin its a $1.29. So you pay for it and eat it, then the manager comes up and says, "Oops, my employee was wrong, its $3.29," and expecting you to pay it, and if you can't, he makes you work in the kitchen until you can give him $5.29 for trying to circumvent Taco Bell's pay before you eat policy. Maybe that allegory works, I'm pretty drunk.'"

The FanHouse: "The biggest impact (other than the potential for Portland's summer cap space to be halved) might be renewed national excitement for the Grizzlies. Bloggers, fans and non-Blazer partisans have almost universally cheered the Memphis move, with Hardwood Paroxysm's headline bringing the best summation. The Grizz are 11-26, but someone needs to get Friday's home game against Utah on national TV. Kevin Pritchard will be able to hear the cheers when Miles comes in all the way in Oregon."

SLAM Online: "It’s kinda funny: People used to dislike the Blazers because they had a bunch of players who got in trouble all the time. Now people dislike the Blazers not because of their actual players, but because of the people in the front office who went out and got the nice players. Go figure."

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