OKC Thunder: Five Small Forwards Who Would Fit Well with the Thunder
By Tony Heim
3. C.J. Miles, Indiana Pacers
C.J. Miles may not be a sexy name, but he is a darn good basketball player. Miles is out with a knee injury at the moment; before he went down he was a rare bright spot for the Pacers at the beginning of the season.
Miles is averaging 13 points and 3 rebounds a game while only playing around 22 minutes a night for Indiana. He’s a career 35% shooter from deep, yet Miles has started the season hitting over 48% from behind the arc. The difference is he’s taking less shots but getting better looks on his attempts.
The 29-year old would bring a lot of the same qualities as Wilson Chandler (experience and locker-room guy), but at an even bigger discount. Miles is due to make a little under $5 million the next two seasons which is incredibly important.
As of now, Russell Westbrook is only guaranteed to play one additional season in Oklahoma City. He has a player optout after the 2018 season; if Sam Presti hasn’t done enough to convince Russ the Thunder can be title contenders than Russ could walk. By trading for Miles, Presti would have even more cap room to work with to bring in a running mate for Russ.
The Pacers are 3-3 without Miles (and 9-9 on the season), so maybe Presti can convince Larry Bird that C.J. isn’t THAT important for the overall success of the team. At least that’s what I’m hoping.