When forward/guard Mike Miller signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, it was so that he could once again be on the court with his friend LeBron James and win an NBA title.
It turned out neither of those things happened as the Cavaliers ended up losing to the Stephen Curry-led Golden State Warriors in six games and Miller spent very little actual time on the court.
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Last season Miller averaged 2.1 points, 0.9 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 52 games. He played an average of just 13.5 minutes a game, the lowest in his 15-year NBA career, and only saw time on the hardwood in the playoffs due to the fact that Cleveland was dealing with an incredible number of injured players.
Sunday, Miller was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of the Brendan Haywood deal that saw Miller, Haywood and two second-round picks go to the Trail Blazers as the Cavaliers are desperately trying to shed salary and find money to re-sign Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova.
The problem is that Portland has found itself in rebuilding mode and really has no use for Miller. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, this means that in all likelihood Miller will be bought out and become a free agent.
Sources: Mike Miller, owed $2.85M in final year of contract, is a strong candidate to negotiate buyout with Blazers and become a free agent.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 27, 2015
Right now it looks like Miller will have to wait until the season starts and rosters are trimmed before he can find a team to land with. But one of those team could (and should) be the Memphis Grizzlies.
Miller has had two separate stints with the Grizzlies over his career, from 2002-08 and then he returned to the team for the 2013-14 season. During that time he was a huge fan favorite and was known for his professionalism and being a positive presence in the locker room.
That, and his very serious skills from three-point range.
During Miller’s career, he has shot 40.7 percent from beyond the arc, with his best season coming in 2009-10 with the Washington Wizards when he shot 48.0 percent. For a Grizzlies team that still needs to figure out a solution to their long-range shooting woes, Miller might not fix them all, but he sure couldn’t hurt either.
Add in that Miller is a 15-year veteran that has been to the playoffs multiple times and he has played in Memphis before so he understands the “grit-n-grind” mindset and style of playing and it could be a perfect fit.
Miller is going into the twilight of his career and is looking for the team he can retire from and then move onto the next phase of his life. He had some of his greatest success with the Grizzlies and you can be sure the fans would love to see Miller return and help Memphis take that next step towards an NBA championship.
Is Mike Miller the long-tern solution for the Memphis Grizzlies? No. But for a franchise looking to win now and in need of a three-point threat that can make an immediate contribution, the Grizzlies could do a lot worse than bringing Mike Miller back for a third time.
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