Source: Cavs to meet with Miles
The Cavaliers have scheduled a two-day visit with free agent small forward C.J. Miles, a source familiar with the meeting told FOX Sports Ohio late Tuesday.
Miles, 25, is an unrestricted free agent, able to sign with any team and leaving the Jazz without the option to match. He has spent all seven of his NBA seasons in Utah.
The Cavs are said to be far apart in negotiations with Alonzo Gee, who finished this past season as the team’s starting small forward. The meeting with Miles may signify that the team is considering other options at the position, the source said.
Gee is a restricted free agent after the Cavs extended him a $2.7 million offer last month. But Gee has received virtually no interest from other teams following a season in which he averaged 10.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in a career-high 63 games (31 starts).
Should Gee sign the Cavs’ qualifying offer, he’ll be a free agent again at the end of the 2012-13 season.
Miles is 6-foot-6 and averaged 9.1 points on 38 percent shooting off the Jazz’s bench last year. The Jazz selected him out of high school in the second round (No. 34 overall) of the 2005 draft. He is coming off his worst shooting year since his second season, when he shot 34 percent from the field.
Miles’ best year came in 2010-11, when he averaged career-highs in points (12.8) and rebounds (3.3) while hitting 81 percent of his free throws.
He has gained a reputation as a good ball-handler and strong finisher near the basket, but struggles defensively and shooting from beyond the 3-point arc (31 percent last season).
Second-year big man Jon Leuer has been the Cavs’ lone pickup in free agency this summer.
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