The Darius Miles saga seemed over with Memphis picking him up again... but now A-Woj of Yahoo! is reporting that Portland tried to pick him up before sending their now infamous e-mail.
Any way you slice it, my respect for their front office has to take a hit with this news. I know it was all for the "good" of the team... but they were willing to literally destroy the comeback attempt of a player, fighting his way back from what many called a career ending injury? Whether you think Miles coming back on the cap is fair or unfair, that's really, really low.
To clarify, I believe the problem lies with league rules, not the Blazers. True, medical releases are rarely given, including a number of circumstances where they seemed even more warranted. But the fact is, Portland obtained a doctor's note saying that Miles was medically unfit to play. (You can question how they obtained this confirmation, and why very few other teams have gotten "medical releases"... but that's a totally different issue). The league's stupidity comes through in the "10 game return" rule. Why have a 10 game window to return? Doesn't that imply that medical retirements may not be permanent? The way medical retirements are handled has to change. If I'm remembering correctly, Miles still wanted to play when he was deemed medically unfit. Perhaps a player consent component would be needed.
But anyways, none of the above excuses the Blazers' actions. File a formal complaint with the league; don't try to end a valiant comeback attempt for your own purposes and then not tell anyone about it.