The Continuing Curious Case of Calvin Andre Miles, Jr.

I purposefully stole the title from Shums post earlier this week and have already sent him a message telling him so.

He could very easily become a good player (premier might be a bit too much) in the league. Provided he is willing to practice and work… something it seems he isn’t willing to do here (unfortunately).

The difference between Miles & Brewer is that Miles tries jumpers while Brewer drives in. So Brewer tends to score more (lay-ups fall more often than jumpers). That also explains the difference in shooting percentage.

As for the difference in steals… CJ is definitely not Brewer on the defensive end. Anyone that thinks CJ is a good defender right now (or maybe even ever will be) is in need of help. But again, he has potential (that dreaded word). He’s got athleticism and a long wing-span… if he worked on it, he could improve.

Plus, there is an age & all difference (CJ is younger, just out of high school… he still needs to develop…). CJ only got 17 mpg… not exactly a ton of playing time (especially compared to the 30 for Brewer). Again, the jump shooting thing. And I agree with you about the defense. It seemed like J-Slow pulled CJ with every single mistake. Plus, in the end, winning is winning. The team with CJ starting went 12-1 for some reason or another… the rest of the starting line-up is the same, and the bench didn’t change much (fine, Fisher, but yeah…). CJ has the long-shot Brewer doesn’t, which helps to free up Booze on the low post. Not saying CJ is the reason the team started 12-1, but he did have some impact. I mean, if he totally sucked, the team would’ve lost more. Oh, and it’s kinda hard to blame CJ for a 50+ point performance. I highly doubt he gave up 50 points (or even 25) in 17 minutes of play. He could stand to get a bit more physical on the defensive end, but he seems to be too skinny to do that effectively.

And as he’s shown (occasionally, I admit) things (a the Wizards game really comes to mind). If he gets consistent time and an opportunity, he can play. I know I’m not an NBA player or anything, but I’ve got to think that constantly getting bumped from starter to DNP-CD to 12th man can’t be good for his confidence or anything.

As for the others… if Mo Williams stays and develops, the team isn’t lottery bound and never really needs Deron. If J-Slow doesn’t all of a sudden start to hate Arroyo, he isn’t traded for nothing and the team never needs Price or Hart. If Stevenson is allowed to play (he was treated worse than CJ), he develops defensively (maybe) to be what he is now, and the Jazz aren’t drafting a SG every year for 4 or 5 (whatever) straight years. Kirk Snyder was a wasted pick.

I think CJ’s mistake was coming out of high school. J-Slow hates high school players (see DeShawn)... he doesn’t seem to understand that they take a bit longer than the normal college draftee to develop and get a hold of the game. The brass and coach should know that before drafting someone from high school. I mean, if CJ was one of those high schoolers ready to contribute from day 1, he would not have slipped to the 2nd round.

Is the blame fully on CJ or fully on J-Slow? No. It falls on both of them. J-Slow for not understanding the above, CJ for not understanding the coach he’s playing for and what the coach wants to see.

Oh, and his contract is a bit too much for the Jazz to match unless a trade goes down. At least in my opinion. Though I am kinda bummed out… because eventually Harpring is going to implode and Korver’s inability to play the 2-guard will become even more visible than when Vujacic shut him down for a series (what???).

Anyhow, I’ll shut up for the time being. I think our views are completely opposite… you don’t like the whole “potential” thing, and I believe in it a bit too much.

My subject didn’t make much sense, but basically, I agree somewhat to your comment and post. I believe that one of CJ’s biggest problems is that he gets psyched out and loses confidence and thus his game. But you can’t only say his “lack of effort” is based on “different styles of play.” I know he is more perimeter oriented, but that doesn’t mean he should stand on the perimeter and wait for the ball. The Jazz offense has always ben about constant offense, moving around picks and either sharp cuts or three pointers. CJ doesn’t move well on offense or defense (most notably on defense). There is no reason CJ isn’t as good of a defender as Brewer. He is less athletic, but he is as quick and long as Brewer. Effort is the difference. His style is technically different, but being where you need to be and making hard cuts and hard moves is something you choose to do. Playing efficiently and smartly is another key to it, but both Brewer and Miles are still learning how to do that.

I am with you on some points too. Stevenson is pretty good and he got a bad rap, although I think some of it had to do with his thuggish actions off the court. And as far as your point with Mo Williams, I guess we should all be really glad he left, cuz he wouldn’t have taken us anywhere D WIll has. And I don’t think we should worry long term about the SF position. Miles wasn’t really playing anyway and by next year, we will have a little more cap room to sign a veteran, or else in two years we will have the Knick’s pick to fill needs with. And you are probably right about Sloan being extra hard on high schoolers but I do know that Sloan interviews every player before the season and right after the season ends and tells them exactly what he expects of them. And from what I have read, he told Miles and Brewer the exact same thing. “Work hard this offseason and you will have a shot at starting.” And for the minutes thing, I included them on purpose, but not to show that Brewer’s stats were better because he played more, but because he earned those minutes. I don’t think Miles did. He had like 4 or 5 games where he missed all of his shots in those first 12 shots. He was not productive. And I don’t personaly think Miles deserves any credit for the 12-1 start. Deron Williams was averaging like 25 points and 13 assists during that stretch and Boozer was super productive too. And we were just squeaking out victories. The stars were aligned for us. Fun times.

I think you could make a case for CJ being the best option for a backup at either the SG or SF positions. Maybe I had unrealistic expectations for Korver after the Jazz made the trade last season, but he seemed awfully inconsistent with his 3-pt shooting. I will say that his free throws in crunch time came in handy many times though. He got owned by Vujacic in the Lakers series, but I’m totally comfortable with Kyle Korver as the backup shooting guard. I think CJ could compete for that spot and do well considering he’s a better athlete and defender than Kyle. But I would rather have seen him backing up AK at the SF position. In my opinion, Harpring is done. He works hard and gives all that he has, and for that, he gets props from me. And I’ve said this before, but there’s something to be said about ability. In the past 4 or 5 years, Harpring’s knees have deteriorated to the point where he’s not nearly the player he used to be. He can’t make a layup nor can he defend anyone. If he was taller he could a decent defender in the post. But he’s not, and as a result, he ends up guarding slashers and better athletes with better knees. In my mind, CJ would’ve been a much better player for us at that position. He’s longer, quicker, and more versatile.
I hope Harpring does better this season, but his past few years of productivity have done nothing to make me think he’ll be a better option as a backup SF than CJ.
I’m not one of those fans who think CJ will be an All-Star in the NBA. He could be starting in the NBA in a few years but he won’t be a major star in the league.
UtesFan makes a great point in another post… What if something happens to AK? Harpring’s gonna get those minutes. That is a very scary thought. I would feel much better with CJ running with the starters than Harpring limping along.
I’m not a Harpring hater… Like I said, I appreciate his effort. But having CJ replace him as AK’s backup gives the Jazz a better chance at winning.

The point about AK’s injury being a problem is a good one, but any injury to our starters could be a huge deal. Injuries happen. But we are deep enough at the 2 and 3 spots that Harpring wouldn’t move into the starting role most likely. Brewer or Korver can play the 3 just fine. And we will have a chance to replace Miles. Maybe Almond will get a chance. And I think we should sign Darius Miles to a ten day contract. Even if AK doesn’t get hurt. At the least it will make the Blazers lose 9 million dollars on their salary cap situation. Losing Miles won’t hurt us this season and next year we can draft a 3 or else trade for one or Almond will have developed.

Kragthorpe just posted a story on how the Jazz will be regretting letting Miles go for years, so apparantly I am wrong. I am amazed. The incredible support of CJ Miles from Jazz fans keeps rolling in.

practicename: I like Miles and I hate to see him go. I think Miles has the quicknes/slashing ability of Brewer the outside range of Korver, and the athletesism of AK.

WHAT?

RoseParkinit: The Spazz are gonna regret this one.

DSW: That is a very reasonable salary Miles received on his offer sheet. It is only essentially a partial mid-level exception offer. It’s not like he got 8 mil per year from some crazy organization (which is what I’m worried Milsap will get next year). The Jazz need to match that!!

Don’t we complain enough about a third string Hart who makes 2.5 million/yr. And you want to give a 3rd stringer 3.75 a year?

KST: Jerry prove me wrong – I want to give you the benefit of the doubt … but if we have to start having interventions with you and all our players (ala AK) then mabye you need to rethink retirement?

Here is someone who would rather have Jerry Sloan retire than lose another talented young guy.

Even Kragthorpe said Miles will become a star in this league. He may not even start for the Thunder and I would bet he doesn’t score more than 12 points a game. He isn’t a star.

Didn’t you think it was weird that he even used the term star? Miles will go to OKC to star for a young team? He might not even start, and he certainly won’t star. He would be, at best, the fifth best player on that team. It’s like saying Kyle Korver stars on our team, or Harpring, or AK. Just a term that doesn’t make sense. And I was serious about DArius Miles, especially if a SF got hurt. He supposedly has humbled himself and he is on a ten day suspension for taking diet pills, not the reported marijuana. And it would hurt Portland at the same time. We won’t sign him, even to a 10 day contract, so don’t worry. But we probably should.

Sorry, I accidentally hit the enter button.

The Jazz are losing a viable backup to AK because they are so infatuated with a player who can’t produce despite his efforts. The Jazz shouldn’t pay that much for a third-stringer, I agree. They should pay him and place him in front of Harpring on the depth chart. They won’t though. I love how Kragthorpe brings up comments that Sloan made following those two games last spring. It was FREAKING April, and he was still bringing up crap from the last July about the Revue? Let it go.. The kid obviously can play. I don’t think that he’ll be a star, but he’ll earn a spot in this league. I don’t know if he starts next season; frankly, I don’t see how he’ll start with Durant and Green there. But he will be a starter down the road somewhere, and may even make an All-Star team or two if he gets in the right situation.
Again, I’m not saying letting CJ would be the biggest blunder in Jazz history. But they are letting a quality swingman go, while keeping an aging, unproductive Harpring. I even think CJ will be better than Almond. He’s definately more versatile. I saw Almond several times at Flash games, and he didn’t show me much except that he can star on a D-league team. He’s not the shooter everyone cracks him up to be, and shooting is his greatest (only?) strength. If the Jazz are looking to unload some of their stockpile of backup swingmen, look first to Harpring, then Almond or Korver… I think CJ is more valuable than all of them.

CJ is very much worth matching the offer for. Dump the bilge first, Hart, Collins and stay aware that our beloved Harp’s knees are just not up to the full task any longer.

Even if we regret keeping CJ after another season his talents will make for GREAT trade fodder if need be.

CJ is still young and continues to show improvement from year to year, game to game, he is well worth the continued investment!

I’m kinda beyond watching the JAZZ bring in very young kids and then throwing them away after little effort only to watch them go on and KICK our Arse!