Los Angeles Lakers: 5 under the radar free agents to target
By Matt Leaman
C.J. Miles
The last player on the list is shooting guard/small forward, C.J. Miles. Miles will be entering his 13th season in the NBA after stints with the Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Indiana Pacers. For his career, he’s averaged 9.8 points and 2.5 rebounds. At 29 years of age, he still has a lot left in the tank and looks ready to keep improving his three point shot like he did so well this year.
Last season with the Indiana Pacers, Miles played in 76 games and started 29 of them. He averaged 23.4 minutes a game coming off the pine. Over the past three seasons, he’s put up scoring averages of 13.5, 11.8, and last year 10.7. He contributes defensively as well only allowing opponents to shoot 41 percent from the field, and 37 percent from three.
Before last season, Miles had never shot over 40% from three in his career. He attempted 5.5 threes a game, making 2.3 of them (41.3%). Most importantly, Miles protects the ball and rarely turns it over, making his minutes very productive.
Miles became a free agent after declining his player option for the 2017-18 season. He made just shy of $4.6 million last season in Indiana. If the Lakers choose to spend money on a valuable bench piece, Miles would be the most expensive and most worthwhile given his success over the past three seasons.
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In all likelihood, the Lakers would be looking at roughly $5-6 million per year for Miles, but with the current market in the NBA Miles could earn well into double-figures.