The Wizards have let Andre Miller know that they’ll keep him past Saturday, when his $2MM partial guarantee for next season jumps to a full guarantee on his $4.625MM salary, agent Andy Miller tells J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. The Wizards had been leaning toward keeping him, as Michael Lee of The Washington Post reported earlier today, advancing an earlier report of the same from Marc Stein of ESPN.com in May.
Miller filled a need at backup point guard this past season when he came over to Washington at the trade deadline. Still, he played even fewer minutes per game for the Wizards than he did in the first half of the season for Denver, where he clashed with coach Brian Shaw, who had already cut his playing time. The Wizards appear to be making a strong push to re-sign both Marcin Gortat and Trevor Ariza, one made even more important with today’s news of Martell Webster‘s back surgery, and the savings that could be reaped from waiving Miller might have come in handy.
The 38-year-old Miller was nonetheless a functional part of the rotation on the most successful Wizards team in more than three decades, and his 14.6 PER is a desirable figure for a bench player. His contract expires after the coming season, so the Wizards aren’t making a lengthy commitment. Michael suggests that the deal Wizards draft-and-stash prospect Tomas Satoransky has with a team in Spain coupled with the team’s failure to land preferred draft target Spencer Dinwiddie helped make the team’s decision regarding Miller easier.