Mike Miller to Nuggets: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction
Veteran swingman Mike Miller reached an agreement with the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday on a one-year contract.
Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post confirmed the signing was complete. The team captured a few photos of Miller practicing in Nuggets gear:
The signing had been in the works for days, with ESPN.com's Marc Stein first reporting Miller would head to Denver once he cleared waivers.
The deal continues a whirlwind offseason for Miller. He picked up his player option with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2015-16 season in June only to get traded to the Portland Trail Blazers less than a month later. The Blazers then waived him shortly before the start of training camp.
Miller is heading into his 16th season in the NBA. He's watched his role decrease significantly over his last few stops—he played just 13.5 minutes per game with the Cavs last season—after playing a key role for the Memphis Grizzlies during his prime.
At his peak, the Florida product averaged 18.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game with the Grizzlies in the 2006-07 season. Since then, he's transformed into more of a bench asset.
The biggest concern now is whether he can rebound from a poor shooting campaign. He connected on just 33 percent of his shots from the field last season with Cleveland as he became almost exclusively a three-point shooter (1.9 of his 2.2 shots per game came from beyond the arc).
| 06-07 (MEM) | 17.0 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 51.4 | 40.6 |
| 14-15 (CLE) | 5.6 | 4.7 | 2.4 | 31.3 | 32.7 |
He's still a 46 percent shooter, including a 41 percent mark from three-point range, for his career. So it's worth taking a chance on him as a potential offensive spark plug off the bench.
The Nuggets' signing Miller is an interesting move on paper. While he'll offer a stable veteran presence, this isn't a team that's anywhere close to playoff contention. The jettisoning of Ty Lawson earlier this offseason confirmed a full-scale rebuild was in the works, though the roster is still equipped with enough capable veterans to avoid the bottom of the conference.
Miller will be buried deep on a wing rotation that already includes Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Randy Foye and Gary Harris. Whatever minutes he gets will come after that quartet gets theirs.
All told, Miller finds himself in the twilight of his career. He'll probably need to take things on a year-to-year—or, as of late, a month-to-month—basis as he tries to prove his remaining value. The opportunities will quickly dry up if he shoots like he did last season, though.
