C.J. Miles

Atlantic Notes: Jones, Celtics, Miles, Simmons, Raptors

Sam Jones, a former Celtics guard who won 10 championships with the team during his playing career, passed away on Thursday night at age 88, team spokesperson Jeff Twiss confirmed to ESPN. Jones had been hospitalized in Florida prior to his death due to failing health.

The eighth overall pick in the 1957 draft, Jones spent his entire 12-year career in Boston, earning five All-Star nods during that time and averaging 17.7 PPG in 871 career regular season games (27.9 MPG). He won more titles than any other player besides longtime teammate Bill Russell and was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1984. Jones was also named to the NBA’s 25th, 50th, and 75th anniversary teams and had his No. 24 retired by the Celtics.

“Sam Jones was one of the most talented, versatile, and clutch shooters for the most successful and dominant teams in NBA history,” the Celtics said in a statement. “His scoring ability was so prolific, and his form so pure, that he earned the simple nickname, ‘The Shooter.’ He was also known as ‘Mr. Clutch.’

“… The Jones family is in our thoughts as we mourn his loss and fondly remember the life and career of one of the greatest champions in American sports.”

Our condolences go out to Jones’ family and friends.

More from around the Atlantic:

  • The Celtics won’t be signing C.J. Miles to a second 10-day contract after his initial deal expired overnight on Thursday, head coach Ime Udoka confirmed today (Twitter link via Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe).
  • Within his look at some of this season’s top trade candidates, John Hollinger of The Athletic says the “consensus opinion” around the NBA is that the Sixers will likely move Ben Simmons before the February 10 deadline, despite having insisted they’re comfortable with the standoff dragging into the offseason.
  • Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the Raptors‘ ownership group, announced on Thursday that the team won’t sell tickets for games at Scotiabank Arena for the next three weeks. Ontario has introduced a new temporary limit of 1,000 people in an indoor venue due to the effects of COVID-19 in the province, so the Raptors will play without fans in the short term rather than opening their doors to just a few hundred of them.

COVID-19 Updates: Hawks, Blazers, Celtics, Bucks, Nets

Wesley Iwundu, who just signed a 10-day contract with the Hawks on Thursday, has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Iwundu played 23 minutes in the Hawks’ 98-96 victory over the Sixers Thursday night, scoring two points and grabbing five rebounds. ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets that the Hawks will need to sign another replacement player to replace Iwundu — himself a replacement player.

Hawks big man Onyeka Okongwu, who made his season debut last week, has entered the protocols as well, Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. In three games this season (22.3 MPG), Okongwu is averaging 10.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 2.0 BPG. The Hawks now have nine players in the protocols.

Here are a few more COVID-related updates:

  • Backup point guard Dennis Smith Jr. and two-way rookie Trendon Watford have entered the protocols for the Trail Blazers and the rest of the team will now be re-tested, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). DSJ and Watford are the only players currently in the protocols for the Blazers.
  • The Celtics have four new players entering the protocols: C.J. Miles, Justin Jackson, Aaron Nesmith, and Bruno Fernando, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic. However, Al Horford, Juan Hernangomez, Jabari Parker, and Brodric Thomas, who’ve all been in the protocols, are listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against Milwaukee, so they could be exiting the protocols soon. Until those four are cleared, the Celtics will have 12 players in the COVID-19 protocols — the largest outbreak in the NBA.
  • In addition to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis has exited the protocols for the Bucks, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets. Like Horford and the other Celtics, Donte DiVincenzo, who’s also been in the protocols, is listed as questionable to make his season debut Saturday.
  • Meanwhile, Bruce Brown and James Johnson have exited the protocols for the Nets, but seven others, including star Kevin Durant, remain in the protocols for their game Saturday against the Lakers, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
  • Warriors rookie Moses Moody has entered the protocols, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Golden State now has four players in the protocols.

Celtics Sign C.J. Miles To 10-Day Contract

2:49pm: The Celtics have officially signed Miles to a 10-day contract, the team announced this afternoon (via Twitter).


10:45am: The Celtics will fortify their roster by signing veteran swingman C.J. Miles via a hardship exception, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Miles won’t count against the team’s roster limit, so no corresponding move will be necessary.

Miles, 34, hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2019/20 season, when he appeared in 10 games for Washington. However, he signed last week with the G League Ignite and played 22 minutes in his NBAGL debut on Friday.

A sharpshooter who has made 1,250 career three-pointers at a 35.8% clip, Miles has appeared in a total of 848 NBA regular season games and another 44 postseason contests for the Jazz, Cavaliers, Pacers, Raptors, Grizzlies, and Wizards. He has career averages of 9.6 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 20.4 MPG.

The Celtics have already signed one player – Justin Jackson – using the hardship exception, but have seven players in the health and safety protocols, so they figure to make at least one more roster addition besides Miles.

Miles’ 10-day deal won’t count against the salary cap or luxury tax for Boston, based on the new roster rules agreed upon by the NBA and NBPA.

Wizards Waive C.J. Miles, Promote Anzejs Pasecniks

11:54am: The move is official, the Wizards announced in a press release.

“We appreciate CJ’s contributions to our team this season and wish him and his family the best as he continues his career,” general manager Tommy Sheppard said. “He is a consummate professional who provided a great example for our younger players despite having his season cut short by an unfortunate injury.”

The team also confirmed that Pasecniks has been signed to a multi-year contract and Williams received a two-way deal.

8:12am: The Wizards will waive injured swingman C.J. Miles, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. His roster spot will be used to convert Anzejs Pasecniks‘ two-way contract to a standard deal, and Johnathan Williams will be re-signed to fill the two-way slot.

Miles, who is making $8.73MM in the final year of his contract, was acquired from the Grizzlies in a trade last summer. He played just 10 games for Washington before suffering a wrist injury in November that will sideline him for the rest of the season.

The 32-year-old has been a positive presence in the locker room, Buckner adds, but the Wizards have been dealing with a string of injuries and need more healthy players (Twitter link).

The team will keep the $4.4MM Disabled Player Exception it received in the wake of Miles’ injury, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. The DPE is not affected by the decision to part with Miles.

Pasecniks, a rookie center, has played 13 games for the Wizards, averaging 8.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in about 22 minutes per night. Washington waived him before training camp, then signed him to the two-way deal in December. Buckner reported last week that the team hoped to promote him to the 15-man roster.

Williams recently had a brief stint with the Wizards as a hardship player, and impressed team officials enough that they wanted to give him another chance. He averaged 5.5 PPG and 6.3 RPG in six games, starting five of them, but was waived last week when the hardship exception expired. He’ll rejoin the roster in advance of the January 15 deadline for two-way signings.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Wizards Receive Disabled Player Exception For C.J. Miles

The Wizards have become the second team today to receive a disabled player exception as a result of a season-ending injury. According to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link), the NBA has granted Washington with a DPE to replace C.J. Miles, who recently underwent surgery to repair ligament damage in his wrist.

The league also granted a disabled player exception to the Trail Blazers in response to Rodney Hood‘s season-ending Achilles tear.

[RELATED: 2019/20 NBA Disabled Player Exceptions]

The Wizards’ DPE is worth $4,365,079, half of Miles’ 2019/20 salary ($8,730,158). The team can use it to sign or trade for a player, or claim someone off waivers. That player’s contract can’t extend beyond the end of this season, and his salary must fit within $100K of the DPE’s amount.

The Wizards previously applied for a disabled player exception this season in response to John Wall‘s Achilles injury. However, that request was denied by the NBA, since Wall underwent surgery last February and presumably wasn’t considered likely to be out through June 15, 2020.

Washington now has a DPE as a result of Miles’ injury, but the club probably won’t use it on the free agent market — the rebuilding Wizards already have $128MM in salary on their books for this season and don’t need free agent help. Still, it could come in handy in a smaller trade. Last season, the Wizards used a DPE to acquire Wesley Johnson from New Orleans, allowing the team to generate a trade exception that was eventually used to land Davis Bertans.

Wizards Apply For Disabled Player Exception For C.J. Miles

The Wizards have applied for a disabled player exception in response to C.J. Miles‘ left wrist injury, reports Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team announced last week that Miles had undergone surgery to repair ligament damage in his wrist, and there’s a belief that procedure will sideline him for the rest of the season.

As we outline in our glossary entry on the disabled player exception, a team can apply for a DPE to replace a seriously injured player. In order for the exception to be granted, an NBA-designated physician must determine that the player is “substantially more likely than not” to be sidelined through at least June 15 of that league year.

If granted, the disabled player exception allows a club to sign a replacement player for 50% of the injured player’s salary, or for the amount of the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception, whichever is lesser. In the case of Miles, the exception would be worth $4,365,079, half of his 2019/20 salary ($8,730,158).

The DPE, which doesn’t give a team an extra roster spot, can also be used to acquire a player on an expiring contract via trade or waivers if his salary fits into the exception.

[RELATED: 2019/20 Disabled Player Exceptions]

The Wizards have already applied for one disabled player exception this season, hoping to gain extra flexibility as a result of John Wall‘s Achilles injury. However, that request was denied by the NBA, presumably because Wall wasn’t considered likely to be out through June 15, 2020. We’ll see if the ruling is any different on Miles, who doesn’t have a definitive recovery timeline after undergoing wrist surgery.

If the DPE for Miles is granted, the Wizards seem unlikely to make use of it on the free agent market, as the rebuilding squad already has $128MM in salary on its books for this season. However, it could come in handy in a smaller trade. Last season, the Wizards used a DPE to acquire Wesley Johnson from New Orleans, allowing the team to generate a trade exception that was eventually used to land Davis Bertans.

Wizards Notes: Centers, Miles, Schofield, Ratings

The Wizards are trying to survive with no healthy centers on their roster, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. The foot injury that sidelined Thomas Bryant for at least three weeks was terrible news for a team that is already missing Ian Mahinmi because of an Achilles injury and Moritz Wagner with a sprained left ankle.

Rui Hachimura and Davis Bertans both started in the frontcourt in Tuesday’s loss to the Magic, while 6’5″ Admiral Schofield was called up from the G League for reinforcement. Katz notes that Wagner should return soon, but he’s averaging more than seven fouls per 36 minutes, so he may have a problem staying on the court.

The Wizards aren’t likely to make a roster move to address the predicament, Katz adds. Jordan McRae and Justin Robinson have partially guaranteed contracts, but management likes both players and isn’t likely to cut them for short-term help. The same holds true for two-way players Chris Chiozza and Garrison Mathews. After a 6-13 start, the focus of this season will remain on player development rather than wins and losses.

There’s more from Washington, D.C.:

  • C.J. Miles had successful surgery today to fix damaged ligaments in his left wrist, the Wizards announced on Twitter. No timeline has been set for Miles’ return, and there were concerns that surgery might keep him out of action for the rest of the season.
  • Before Schofield joined the Wizards last night, he played 38 minutes in a G League game for the Capital City Go-Go, relays Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. He became the first player in franchise history and one of only a handful throughout the league who have appeared in two games in one day. “This is one of those days where you get to fall in love with the game again because it’s so much basketball,” said Schofield, who played 7:19 against Orlando. Robinson was also called up after playing in the early game, but wasn’t used.
  • The Wizards have suffered the largest decline in local television ratings of any NBA team, tweets John Ourand of Sports Business Journal. Washington’s games are drawing a 57% smaller audience than they did last season.

Wizards Notes: Howard, Miles, Beal

After injuries wiped out nearly all of his 2018/19 season, Dwight Howard made promises to new Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard that he never got a chance to fulfill, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. Howard suffered a back injury before training camp and played just nine games last year. Entering the second season of his two-year contract, Howard vowed to Sheppard that things were going to be different.

“I told Tommy I was gonna lose 30 pounds and come back in the best shape of my life and we were gonna have a shot at winning a championship,” Howard said. “That was my goal all summer, to lose weight and come back better than ever.”

Howard delivered on his promises, but not in D.C. He was traded to Memphis in July to create more minutes for centers Thomas Bryant, who re-signed this summer, and Moritz Wagner, who was acquired in a trade. Howard reached a buyout with the Grizzlies and accepted a non-guaranteed offer from the Lakers. It marked his second straight summer with a buyout arrangement and his seventh team in the past five years, but he’s grateful for the chance to rebuild his reputation.

“A lot of times, you gotta outlive the lie,” he said. “I’ve been lied on for many years about who I am as a player, person, my character. So, I just wanted to get into good shape. If I say something, I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna be that way, and (that’s) not gonna change.”

There’s more Wizards news to pass along:

  • The team is holding out hope that C.J. Miles won’t need surgery for his injured left wrist, relays Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. Miles damaged ligaments while taking a charge in Tuesday’s game and can’t visit a specialist until Monday when the Wizards are back from their current road trip. An operation would sideline him for about four months and likely end his season. “Right now, they’re talking to the doctors, talking to C.J. as well and our staff and have a game plan, I’m sure, the next couple of days,” coach Scott Brooks said.
  • Bradley Beal doesn’t regret his decision to accept a two-year extension, even though Washington is off to a poor start at 6-11, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. Beal could have turned down the offer and possibly paved the way for a trade to a contender, but he opted to commit to the organization through at least 2021/22. “It’s easy for people in all walks of life to see the grass as greener on the other side and not to see and appreciate your current environment,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “And I do admire that in Bradley.”
  • Beal blamed weight gain over the past two seasons on Couvade Syndrome, also known as “sympathetic pregnancy,” writes Quinton Mayo of NBC Sports Washington. Beal’s partner has delivered two children in the past two years. “I gained about 12-15 pounds,” he said. “Coach Brooks used to make fun of me and say my uniform was fitting a little tighter, and not in a good way. I was up at 3, 4 o’clock in the morning eating ice cream when I shouldn’t have been eating ice cream. That’s all because momma was pregnant and I had the exact same symptoms. I was craving stuff that I never had the desire to eat before.”

Wizards’ C.J. Miles Could Miss Rest Of Season With Wrist Injury

The Wizards could be without forward C.J. Miles for the rest of the season as he heads to see a specialist about damaged ligaments in his left wrist, Candace Buckner of The Washington Post reports (Twitter link).

Miles, 32, will see a specialist on Monday and if he needs to undergo surgery, he would miss the remainder of the season. He was recently ruled out for Washington’s upcoming road trip due to the wrist injury before the severity was known.

In 10 games this season, Miles has averaged 6.4 PPG while shooting 32.2% from the field. The veteran was seeing just over 16 minutes per contest.

While Miles has not been a focal point of the offense, he provides scoring punch and floor spacing off the bench that the Wizards would need to replace.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/1/19

Here are Friday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

  • With the Celtics dealing with frontcourt injuries, they recalled rookie center Tacko Fall from the Maine Red Claws for tonight’s game against the Knicks, Nicole Yang of the Boston Globe tweets. The 7’5” Fall made his NBA debut on Saturday, contributing four points and three rebounds in four minutes against the Knicks.
  • The Wizards assigned swingman C.J. Miles to the Capital City Go-Go, the team’s PR department tweets. Miles joined them for a practice as he works his way back from a foot injury.
  • The Grizzlies assigned forward Bruno Caboclo and guard De’Anthony Melton to the Memphis Hustle, the team’s PR department tweets. They went there for practice and then were recalled. They’ll do the same on Sunday. Both have only made brief appearances in two games this season.