Any mileage left?

New Celtic totes injury baggage

Darius Miles made an impression as a high school star when the McDonald's Classic was held at the FleetCenter in 2000. (File 2000/The Boston Globe)

The Celtics have been looking for a replacement for James Posey. They might have found that player in Darius Miles.

The Celtics believe Miles, a 2001 NBA all-rookie team selection, is healthy and ready to get back on the floor and produce, so they signed him to a make-good contract Friday.

As for the Blazers, who bought Miles out, they'll believe he can play again when they see it, as he missed the last two seasons following right knee microfracture surgery.

"He's healthy and has a great attitude," said Celtics general manager Danny Ainge. "He's ready to resurrect his career."

Said Blazers coach Nate McMillan, "Evidently, Boston wants to take a chance. I don't know what the situation is.

"So, we'll see."

The Miles I remember was a slasher and feared dunker who was often on "SportsCenter's" Top 10 plays. He brought energy to the floor and had the versatility to play every position but center. He was the third overall pick in the 2000 draft out of high school, is only 26 years old, and once scored 47 points in a game against the Nuggets three years ago.

But the slender yet long 6-foot-9-inch, 210-pounder would have trouble beating Patrick O'Bryant in a 3-point competition, struggles like Shaquille O'Neal from the free throw line, and had a long list of maturity problems. During his last healthy season, 2005-06, Miles averaged 14 points and 4.6 rebounds in 40 contests. That seems very long ago.

McMillan said Miles began practicing again with the Blazers at the beginning of the year, but couldn't participate on a regular basis. McMillan said he, the coaching staff, and the trainers did the best they could to get Miles back in a Blazers uniform, but he could never get physically cleared.

The Blazers waived the East St. Louis native in April after an examination determined his knee damage was severe enough to be career-ending.

"We had him working out and were running him through some drills," said McMillan. "He actually tried to go through some practices. For a day or so he could do that and then he had to take a couple days off.

"That's a tough situation. From what the doctors saw and what we saw him going through trying to get back on the floor, it was very difficult for him. And I thought we were really patient in rehabbing and trying to give him the time and push him on the things the doctors were telling us to do.

"It just never could get there. Who knows? But we didn't think so."

By waiving Miles, the Blazers took the remaining two years and $18 million on his contract off their salary cap. But if he plays in 10 games in either of the next two seasons, his salary would go back on Portland's books.

So the Blazers have to be quietly hoping that Miles never plays another NBA game.

As for the Celtics, they are hoping they snatched a diamond out of the rough who can help them win back-to-back championships.

Time will tell. But the big difference is that Boston has nothing to lose while Portland has millions to lose.

"I've heard that he has been working out for other teams," said McMillan, who is also an assistant coach with the US team at the Olympics. "Drills are one thing. Basketball is another."

Said Ainge, "Time will tell. He'll be with the team the next two months working out with our guys.

"We'll see."

This US staffer had an eye trained on Yao
USA Basketball trainer Keith Jones had two very important jobs that kept his hands full during the Olympics. Jones is also the Rockets' vice president of basketball operations/athletic trainer, so he was keeping tabs on Yao Ming, who returned to action for his native China after his NBA season ended prematurely because of a fractured left foot.

"I checked in with him to see how he was doing," Jones said. "He wasn't having any pain. I was asking him about the swelling. He said, 'It's not as much as it used to be. It's a little puffy after practice. I put it in an ice bucket and the next morning I'm fine.' "

Considering that this was Yao's fourth major injury in two years, it's understandable that the Rockets are so concerned. Rockets assistant coach Jack Sikma, assistant trainer Keith Garnett, and a physical therapist went to China to work out Yao before the Games. Jones said Chinese team officials gladly accepted "plain instructions" not to overwork Yao, who averaged 19 points and 8.2 rebounds at the Olympics.

"I always worry about Yao," Jones said. "He has a different bone structure. But in terms of where he is now and where he has to be Oct. 1, I feel really confident he'll be just fine."

By the numbers
28-3

Overall record of US teams in the Olympics that used NBA players.

The list
Celtics rookie guard J.R. Giddens played at Kansas before transferring to New Mexico. The other Celtics who played college ball at Kansas:

Maurice King

Raef LaFrentz

Clyde Lovellette

Paul Pierce

Scot Pollard

Kevin Pritchard

JoJo White

Speak up
"Just being able to sit in here and hang out with these guys, it's cool to sit in here. These are the guys I'm always watching on TV. It's cool to sit in here, hang out, and be one of the guys."
Michael Phelps, visiting the US basketball team's locker room

Etc.
Conventional thinking: While he will surely be jet-lagged after coming back from the Olympics in China, Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony hopes to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver, which begins tomorrow and ends Thursday. Anthony supports Democratic candidate Barack Obama and hopes to meet him at the convention at Pepsi Center, where Anthony often is the star attraction. "I support him 100 percent," Anthony said. "I'm not a politician, I can tell you that right now. But I support Barack Obama. That's history, too, for it to go on at the place where I work. I'd love to be a part of that."

G'day for Australian: St. Mary's College guard Patrick Mills considered putting his name into the NBA draft after his freshman year but opted to return to school. But after the 5-foot-11-inch Australian guard scored 20 points off the bench against the United States and 22 against Argentina, he showed he was capable of playing in the NBA now. "I'm glad my Duke team doesn't play St. Mary's," said US coach Mike Krzyzewski. "He is a great guard and he will be an NBA guard." Said Mills, "I played against the best [in the Olympics] and I take a lot from it and learned a lot. I'm much better."

Teen sensation: Keep an eye on 17-year-old Spaniard Ricky Rubio. The 6-3 point guard had 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in a preliminary Olympic game last week against the Americans and is projected to be a star. "He's going to be good," US point guard Jason Kidd said. "He's getting a lot of attention and he's handled it quite well so far. I think you can see that he's got some talent. He's only 17 years old. The sky's the limit for him."

A hitch in his plans: Yao Ming is expected to arrive in Houston in preparation for the upcoming NBA season shortly after attending the wedding of one of his national teammates in China Sept. 27.