Andre Miller sat down with head coach Nate McMillan today in his office. They had a discussion that lasted just five minutes. It is not clear what was said, but not hours after their meeting, McMillan revealed to the press that their might be a lineup change for tonight’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. Miller over Steve Blake could be his thinking.

This is the right mindset, as Miller, who hasn’t made a start yet this season and is averaging 25 minutes per game, is without a doubt the better player. But McMillan’s reasoning for starting the veteran may not be just to enhance the team’s current sluggish play. Rival executives, in part because of his limited play, have come to the conclusion that the Blazers signed Miller purely to make sure they acquired a tradable asset with their salary cap space.

This is only speculation, but though its hard to believe General Manager Kevin Pritchard would do such a thing, it’s not so far-fetched to believe there could be some truth to the notion. At trade deadlines, he has said “We’re in on everything.” He’s the aggressive type, and is always looking to improve. If he sees a better option out there, he’ll go after him. But to sign a player just to showcase him in order to get someone better, which is what these executives were implying, is pretty bush-league.

There may be nothing to this. Those “rival executives” could be out of their minds, conjuring up such a theory. Only time will tell if there are right, if Miller is trade bait. He may take the reigns tonight against the Spurs. McMillan may just be looking for a way to spice things up, make the team more up-tempo. Or, this could be part one of the showcasing phase.

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