ESPN reported earlier today that Indiana Pacers swingman C.J. Miles will decline his player option to remain with the Pacers for the 2017-18 NBA regular season. His option would have paid him $4.8 million; but ahead of the upcoming NBA salary cap increase, many players are choosing to opt-out and test free agency.
Miles played much of this past season as a bench player, starting in just 29 games for Indiana during the 2016-17 season. He did shoot a career-high 41% on three pointers last season though, good enough for 11th in the NBA and 4th-best in the Eastern Conference.
As the Pacers look to make their roster the most welcoming to Paul George when he becomes a free agent in 2018, trying to hang on to Miles could prove helpful moving forward. George was critical of Miles’ last-second shot attempt in Game 1 of the Cavaliers/Pacers series, but there didn’t seem to be bad blood between the two. Miles acknowledged that George is the guy they wanted to have the ball in his hands; but with time running as low as it was, he felt he had to take the shot.
Prior to playing with the Pacers, Miles has played on the Cavaliers and the Jazz – who drafted him out of high school in 2005.
Surely Miles will look for more than the near-five million dollar option he’s opting out of in Indiana, but his asking price shouldn’t be too high. At any rate, Miles is a talented role player who can make an instant impact on any team with whom he chooses to sign.
