It’s been a busy off-season for Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors.
Not only did they bring back Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka as they look to extend their competitive window, but Ujiri and Co. shipped out the underperforming DeMarre Carroll before adding some much-needed three-point shooting in the form of C.J. Miles.
Miles will reportedly come to the Raptors through a sign-and-trade deal with the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Canadian point guard Cory Joseph. Miles, is coming off a productive three-year run with the Indiana Pacers and joins a Raptors team that is looking to get over the hump in the weakened Eastern Conference.
Here’s a closer look at the Raptors’ newest sharpshooter.
Name: C.J. Miles
Position: Shooting guard/small forward
Shoots: Left
Age: 30
Place of birth: Dallas, TX
Height: Six-foot-six
Weight: 225 pounds
Drafted: Second round, 34th overall by Utah in 2005
Former school: Skyline High School
Dead-eye shooter
Raptors head coach Dwane Casey has made it very clear that he wants his team to improve from beyond the arc moving forward.
Enter Miles, who knocked down better than two triples per game in 2016-17, posting a 41 per cent clip from long range in the process. By contrast, Carroll, the man Miles is essentially replacing in the rotation, shot 34 per cent from three-point range last season.
Miles’ marksman-like abilities should help the Raptors rise out of the NBA’s bottom 10 in terms of three-point makes and attempts per game.
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SlamBall and super powers
Remember SlamBall, the version of basketball with the trampolines, bodychecks and epic dunks? Miles sure does.
“I used to think Slamball was very cool,” Miles said in an interview with Sportsnet in 2014. “I remember watching it and just wanting to go and do it so badly. It was so freakin’ crazy. Because I think as a basketball player everybody wants to be able to fly and dunk like that, and to experience basketball differently—until you get body-checked.”
This isn’t the only time in the interview where Miles says he wants to fly. When asked what superpower he’d like to have most, the then-27-year-old said either being able to fly or being invisible.
From high school to the pros
Despite committing to the University of Texas, Miles made the decision to forego college after being drafted by the Utah Jazz in the second round back in 2005.
As a young player, Miles struggled to find minutes early in his career, bouncing between the NBA and the D-League. He finally got a chance to play a more consistent role in 2008-09 and hasn’t averaged less than 20 minutes per game in a season since.
Will Miles win over the hearts of Raptors fans the way fellow high school draftee Amir Johnson did? If he gets into the Zombie Walk he may have a chance.
Historic performance
Between his days in Utah and Indiana, Miles spent two years with some bad Cleveland Cavaliers teams. Despite the poor win-loss records, Miles achieved an impressive individual feat in 2013-14.
Playing against the abysmal Philadelphia 76ers on a cold January night, Miles went off for 10 three-pointers, setting a Cavaliers record in the process.
Raptors fans will be hoping the 30-year-old heats up their home arena all winter.
Curious reward
When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. What do you do when life gives you potatoes?
That’s the question Miles had to answer this past March. After passing Troy Murphy on the Pacers’ all-time made three-pointers list, he was gifted a potato for his accomplishment.
— LSM (@iamlaurenmiles) March 15, 2017
Now that he’s playing in Canada, he can take that potato and make some poutine.
