Grizzlies sharpshooter C.J. Miles will see his 2018/19 season come to an early end, as the team announced today (via Twitter) that an MRI revealed a stress reaction in his sore left foot.
The issue will require about three to six weeks of “off-loading” to resolve, according to the Grizzlies. Miles is expected to make a full recovery, but with the final game of the ’18/19 regular season only about three weeks away, he won’t be brought back this spring.
Miles, who was included for salary-matching purposes in the trade that sent Marc Gasol to Toronto, had a down year, though he has looked better since being dealt. In 53 total games for the Raptors and Grizzlies, he averaged 6.4 PPG on .360/.330/.828 shooting. Those numbers were buoyed by his 9.3 PPG and .400/.364/.929 shooting line in his 13 games with Memphis.
Miles’ contract includes a $8.73MM player option for 2019/20. Given his struggles this year, the veteran swingman is probably a lock to exercise that option, though that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be back in Memphis next season — the club could shop his expiring contract during the offseason if it so chooses. However, I wouldn’t expect the Grizzlies to look to shed his salary unless they also try to dump the final year of Chandler Parson’s contract, worth $25MM+.
With Miles sidelined, Grizzlies fans could see more of Tyler Dorsey down the stretch, according to Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian, who notes (via Twitter) that two-way players Julian Washburn and Yuta Watanabe could also vie for forward minutes once the G League season ends this week.