C.J. Miles Agrees to Four-Year Deal with Pacers

Feb 18, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tony Wroten (8) defends the dribble of Cleveland Cavaliers guard C.J. Miles (0) during the fourth quarter at the Wells Fargo Center. The Cavaliers defeated the Sixers 114-85. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Indiana Pacers have been hard at work so far during free agency, and have agreed to contracts with two shooters. They signed Croatian forward Damjan Rudez, and now they have agreed to a contract with former Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard C.J. Miles. Miles showed the ability to shoot the basketball at an extremely high level over the past couple seasons, and he will help the Pacers stretch the floor this season.

Miles’ deal will be a four-year contract worth $18 million over those four seasons. It certainly is a pricey contract, but at the very least it will show Lance Stephenson that the Pacers aren’t messing around this offseason. Indiana doesn’t have too much more money to mess around with, and would likely have to make a trade to clear out some cap space if they really want to bring Stephenson back.

All that being said, Miles is an excellent pickup that will help the Pacers out in a big way off the bench. He averaged 9.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game with the Cavaliers last season, but simply didn’t receive consistent playing time. His three-point shooting percentage remained solid at 39.3% and that along with his defense is exactly why the Pacers signed him.

Expect Miles to fill the role that Evan Turner tried to fill down the stretch of last season. He will likely be the backup shooting guard, and will be the first or second guy up off the bench each night. His defense is going to fit much better into what the Pacers are trying to do, and Frank Vogel will need to make sure to use his three-point shooting in the right way.

This may have been an expensive deal for the Pacers to make, but it is certainly the right move for them as well. Miles is going to be one of the pieces that pushes the bench to play to the best of their abilities, and he is certainly a better player than either Turner or Rasual Butler was at the end of last year. Expect to see Miles have a fairly large impact on the Pacers this season.