Blazers' president and acting GM Steve Patterson is not tipping his hand.  

"There's nothing on the burner right now," Patterson said.

Patterson would not comment on the rumor that originated in New York which has the Knicks trading Quentin Richardson to Portland in order to bring back disgruntled swingman Darius Miles.

"Darius is under contract, and he's a part of the team, and as long as he's a part of the team, he's part of the team," said Patterson.

Miles seemed to take an early leave from the Blazers last season, sleeping through a shootaround and dressing back into his street clothes during halftime of a game.

During his exit interview, Miles expressed to head coach Nate McMillan and the GM (at the time) John Nash that he did not want to return to Portland.

Meanwhile, with Paul Allen apparently set to retain ownership of the Blazers, there has not been any announcement on the naming of a new general manager in Portland.  

NBA sources believe that the Blazers have not conducted a full-fledged search for a successor to the ousted Nash.  Therefore it is reasonable to expect that either Patterson or Kevin Pritchard will formally assume the head of basketball operations in Portland for the coming season.

"I'm not going to speculate," Patterson said. "When we have some news to report, we'll give you a buzz."