The Portland Trail Blazers have offered point guard Andre Miller a three-year contract after failing in their efforts to acquire New York Knicks restricted free agent David Lee, sources close to the process said Friday.
Miller's contract would be worth $21 million, with $14 million guaranteed and $7 million included as a third-year team option, a source said.
Miller's agent, Andy Miller, confirmed his client will be signing a multiyear deal with the Blazers as early as Friday but declined to offer details, ESPN Radio 1080 in Portland has reported.
Miller, an unrestricted free agent, had been balking at signing a one-year offer from the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Blazers were one of only two teams with the money to give him more than the mid-level exception.
The Blazers have been looking for a veteran point guard for the past couple of seasons and have flirted with everyone from Jason Kidd to Kirk Hinrich.
With Miller, the Blazers would get a savvy veteran who excels as a physical, post-up guard.
Before they committed to Miller, the Blazers made a strong push for Lee, a power forward. On Tuesday night, Blazers coach Nate McMillan and front-office executives Kevin Pritchard and Tom Penn had dinner with Lee in Las Vegas to make their recruiting pitch.
One source said the Blazers offered Lee a variety of options, including an opt-out clause that would have made him an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2011.
But the Knicks and Portland could not agree in discussions Thursday on any kind of a sign-and-trade deal, and the Blazers did not want to risk losing Miller over the seven-day waiting period had they chosen to use their cap space to tender an offer sheet to Lee, which New York would have had the right to match.
Lee, attending Team USA's mini-camp in Las Vegas, confirmed the Tuesday night recruiting meeting and said he was intrigued by the possibility of playing for Portland, although he never thought a deal was close.
"At this point it's going to come down to sign-and-trades vs. trying to get something worked out with New York," Lee told ESPN.com. "Sign and trades, with base-year and compensation and all that stuff, can get complicated. But I think there's enough teams out there that we've had contact with that are excited about trying to get something done that it's a possibility we can do it."
Miller's contract would be worth $21 million, with $14 million guaranteed and $7 million included as a third-year team option, a source said.
Miller's agent, Andy Miller, confirmed his client will be signing a multiyear deal with the Blazers as early as Friday but declined to offer details, ESPN Radio 1080 in Portland has reported.
Miller, an unrestricted free agent, had been balking at signing a one-year offer from the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Blazers were one of only two teams with the money to give him more than the mid-level exception.
The Blazers have been looking for a veteran point guard for the past couple of seasons and have flirted with everyone from Jason Kidd to Kirk Hinrich.
With Miller, the Blazers would get a savvy veteran who excels as a physical, post-up guard.
Before they committed to Miller, the Blazers made a strong push for Lee, a power forward. On Tuesday night, Blazers coach Nate McMillan and front-office executives Kevin Pritchard and Tom Penn had dinner with Lee in Las Vegas to make their recruiting pitch.
One source said the Blazers offered Lee a variety of options, including an opt-out clause that would have made him an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2011.
But the Knicks and Portland could not agree in discussions Thursday on any kind of a sign-and-trade deal, and the Blazers did not want to risk losing Miller over the seven-day waiting period had they chosen to use their cap space to tender an offer sheet to Lee, which New York would have had the right to match.
Lee, attending Team USA's mini-camp in Las Vegas, confirmed the Tuesday night recruiting meeting and said he was intrigued by the possibility of playing for Portland, although he never thought a deal was close.
"At this point it's going to come down to sign-and-trades vs. trying to get something worked out with New York," Lee told ESPN.com. "Sign and trades, with base-year and compensation and all that stuff, can get complicated. But I think there's enough teams out there that we've had contact with that are excited about trying to get something done that it's a possibility we can do it."
