Did Darius Miles Hit Steroid Roadblock on Comeback Trail?

By Joe Pietaro
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Updated: July 11, 2008

Former Blazer Forward Faces 10-Game NBA Drug Ban; Let’s Not Jump to Conclusions Yet

Former Portland bad boy Darius Miles doesn’t even have a job, yet he faces a 10-game suspension in the event that he does catch on with an NBA team. The league’s Anti-Drug program has that same penalty for one positive test for performance-enhancing drugs.

With the name of the drug not being released, the Internet has been doing its usual irresponsible reporting methods putting anabolic steroids at the top of the list. To a certain degree, many of us have become jaded when it comes to steroids and athletes, causing us to immediately go there as soon as we hear anything about anti-drug programs.

While it may be steroids, there isn’t anything to prove or dispute that. Unless the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement changes to allow the release of the drug name – or of Miles himself states it – it will remain just speculation.

Since being drafted third overall out of East Saint Louis High School in 2000 by the Los Angeles Clippers, Miles has been an overall disappointment on and off the court. In eight seasons, he has averaged 10.6 points per game playing for three teams (Clippers, Cavaliers, Trail Blazers), and having problems with his head coach at every stop.

He has had to sit out the last two seasons due to a knee injury. In April, an independent doctor ruled that it was a career-threatening injury, causing the Blazers to release the 26 year-old. It is not known if Miles intends to attempt a comeback or not, but this can not help his chances. A report on Oregon Live website stated that Miles may be working out in Phoenix, and that a call to his agent Jeff Wechsler went unreturned.