Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring C.J. Miles
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Miles is entering his 15th NBA season, and his 2019-20 campaign will be with his sixth with a different team. After appearing in 40 games for the eventual world champion Raptors, Miles was traded to the Grizzlies near the February trade deadline. After playing in 13 games for Memphis, which included a 33-point outburst, Miles suffered a foot injury that ultimately ended his season. It was only a few months before Miles was on the move again, as he was traded to the Wizards this offseason after picking up his player option. In the end, Miles averaged just 6.4 points across 16.2 minutes in 53 appearances last year. Availability continues to be an issue for Miles, as this was the fifth time in the last eight seasons that the swingman has failed to play more than 65 games due to various injuries. Despite that, the Wizards' lack of quality wing depth has left the door open for Miles to potentially see a large workload if healthy. His biggest competition for minutes will be second-year player Troy Brown, who had a strong finish to the 2018-19 season with Washington. But regardless of minutes, Miles' inconsistency and lack of production beyond the scoring column put a cap on his fantasy value.
After signing a three-year, $25 million contract with the Raptors last offseason, Miles became a key contributor off the bench. He averaged 19.1 minutes per game and provided a spark offensively with the second unit. Most notably was Miles' sharp-shooting, as the 31-year-old knocked down 2.3 three-pointers at a 36.1 percent clip. That was more than five percentage points less than the 41.2 percent he finished a year prior, so there's certainly a chance he's able to up that figure heading into next season. Other than his work from the three-point line, Miles didn't provide much else, adding just 10.0 points and 2.2 rebounds to his stat line. The Raptors dealt DeMar DeRozan to the Spurs this offseason, but brought back superstar Kawhi Leonard and veteran Danny Green as well. Leonard's locked into a starting role and essentially replaces DeRozan. On the other hand, Green is another body that Miles will have to battle with for minutes on the wing, joining the likes of Delon Wright, Norman Powell and potentially OG Anunoby, who's also going to play a lot of power forward. With more mouths to feed, Miles could struggle to match his output from a season ago and will once again be nothing more than a three-point specialist in deeper leagues.
Miles' 12th season in the NBA, and third with the Pacers, came with a similar role of 23.4 minutes per game, which was slightly up from the 22.9 he averaged a year prior. That translated to averages of 10.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 three-pointers, as he largely came off the bench as a three-point specialist to help with the team's second unit scoring. What was specifically encouraging for Miles was his improvement from beyond the arc, shooting a career-high 41.3 percent across 76 games. With the NBA's transition to a more three-point heavy offense, that improvement from deep made him especially attractive on the open free agent market and he was eventually able to lock in a three-year, $25 million contract with the Raptors. He's fully expected to add a much-needed perimiter presence for a Toronto team that ranked in the bottom half of the league for three-pointers made during the 2016 season. With former starting small forward DeMarre Carroll being shipped to the Nets in a trade during the offseason, Miles will be able to battle for a spot in the Raptors' starting lineup. That said, third-year player Norman Powell had a strong finish to last year's playofffs, so the two are expected to battle for a spot in the top unit throughout training camp. Even if Miles ends up securing a starter's role, the Raptors will likely want to get plenty of experience for the promising Powell, which likely means a similar role for Miles from what he saw in Indiana. He'll likely be a three-point specialist in deeper leagues as he mentors some of the younger talent on the roster.
The defensive-minded Miles did his best to help fill in for injured All-Star Paul George, but only so much could be expected from the 10-year veteran and sophomore Solomon Hill. Miles did his best, delivering career highs in points per game (13.5), three-pointers per game (2.2), and minutes per game (26). His other 2014-15 stats were closer to his 10-year career norms: 3.1 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 1.1 assists per game while shooting an unsightly 40 percent from the field. For 2015-16, Miles will probably return to his usual 19-21 minutes per game. He'll face more competition for minutes now that George has returned and newcomers Monta Ellis and Chase Bullinger have arrived. But there has been a lot of talk that the Pacers will move George to power forward, which would give Miles a clearer path to bigger minutes. Either way, Miles is a decent bench option in standard fantasy leagues. If he can repeat his 2.2 three-pointers per game, Miles would be a hidden gem for deeper fantasy formats.
Miles provided lukewarm fantasy production with the Cavaliers last season, as a serious ankle injury limited him to just 51 games (34 starts), and he missed the better part of the second half. He's expected to be healthy going into training camp, and depending on his role with the Pacers, it's possible that the 27-year-old could return to being a fantasy-relevant player in 2014-15. His ability to play both shooting guard and small forward, both positions of need on the Pacers after Lance Stephenson left via free agency and Paul George suffered a broken leg while training with Team USA, could get him into the starting lineup. Miles' role boils down to a looming competition with Rodney Stuckey and Solomon Hill for the two open starting spots. Regardless of whether or not he cracks the starting lineup, Miles should see at least 20-25 minutes per game. Miles has only played over 25 minutes per game once in his career, and that came in 2010-11 with the Utah Jazz. He averaged 12.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists that season but shot a putrid 41 percent from the field and 32 percent from beyond the arc. If he's able to stay healthy and earn enough playing time, Miles may end up as a serviceable wing player in deeper formats in 2014-15.
In his first year as a Cavalier, Miles struggled to find a consistent role off the bench. He averaged 11.2 points in just 21 minutes and hit 38 percent of his three-pointers. The long-time Jazz reserve will likely not see as many minutes in 2013-14 but could provide some scoring spurts off the bench.
When he started getting significant playing time in Utah, Miles started averaging a little more than nine points per game, while usually making one three-pointer per night. Playing in Cleveland, he could approach his career-high in minutes per game, 25.2, and that season he scored 12.8 points per game, although he is unlikely to contribute in any other categories.
After Tyrone Corbin took over the coaching reins from Jerry Sloan, Miles was given a fresh look in the team’s offense. As a result, Miles should enter this season as the Jazz’ starting shooting guard. Through 11 games in that role last season, he averaged 16.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.5 three-pointers, 0.6 steals, 0.7 blocks and 1.6 turnovers in 31 minutes. Alec Burks, taken by the Jazz with the 12th-overall pick in the draft, could eventually push him for minutes, but isn’t likely to be a major factor right away, especially with the lockout now in place. Draft Miles in the later rounds for his contributions in three-pointers, and hope he gets asked to shoulder a larger part of the load on offense this season.
C.J. Miles has shown improvement in his play each year and at times has been electric at the shooting guard position. He is a streaky player who can shoot the ball and drive to the hoop well. His athleticism allows him to stick with other wingmen and be a solid defender.
This may be the last chance Miles will get from the Jazz to stay in the starting lineup. He is very athletic and appears to have great potential but does not seem to have the desire or hustle to put up more than the occasional big game. He does not play good defense, "hangs around" on offense, and frequently drawn criticism from coach Jerry Sloan. He averaged just 12 minutes per game last season, and we do not see that increasing dramatically. He supposedly took the initiative to spend his summer preparing for the upcoming season, but do not expect him to have big fantasy numbers.
Miles was a mid-season D-league call up for the Warriors last year and played well in limited minutes. He is one of only two true point guards on the Warriors' roster (Marcus Williams is the other) but will struggle to get minutes playing behind Williams and Monta Ellis.
Miles is a free agent who started 13 games for the Jazz last season. He had limited production in his 10 minutes per game averaging just 2.7 points on 34.5 percent shooting.
Miles, just 18 years old, is a dynamic athlete who is skilled at creating shots for himself and others. He's got long arms, and at 6-6 can post up smaller guards. He could use a year or two in the development league while he gains size and strength, but he's definitely got a future with this team, and should be the starting two guard in Utah in 2007 after Devin Brown's contract runs out.