Detroit Pistons interested in Indiana Pacers sharpshooter C.J. Miles

Vince Ellis | Detroit Free Press

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The Detroit Pistons need shooting, but their cap situation likely prevents an expensive splurge.

Indiana Pacers sharpshooter C.J. Miles could provide a solution.

An ESPN.com report on Tuesday said Miles, 30, will opt out of the final year of his deal to become an unrestricted free agent.

And the Pistons are interested in the 6-foot-6 shooting guard.

A person with firsthand knowledge of the Pistons’ off-season plans told the Free Press this morning Miles “would be on our list.”

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The person cautioned that a lot would depend on what happens with restricted free agents Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Bullock.

The Pistons are capped out, meaning their ability to spend on free agents is limited, but they could use the non-taxpayer $8.4-million mid-level exception to spend this off-season — unless a Caldwell-Pope extension and other decisions put the Pistons in danger of crossing into luxury tax territory.

The exception is a salary-cap mechanism that allows teams over the salary cap to sign free agents.

Miles is coming off a season where he shot a career-high 41.3% from three-point range on 5.4 attempts per game (169-for-409) in 76 games (29 starts) for the Pacers. He averaged 10.7 points and three rebounds per game in 23.4 minutes.

Miles averaged 7.3 points in 20.5 minutes per game as the Pacers were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He missed an open jumper just before the buzzer that would have won Game 1.

In his 12-year career across Utah, Cleveland and Indiana, Miles is a 36.1% three-point shooter.

Miles is declining a $4.8-million player option, so if the Pistons are willing to use the full mid-level exception, they could attract Miles’ interest.

A sticking point could be the number of years. With Miles on the north side of 30, teams could be reluctant to go more than three years on a deal.

But the Pistons could be desperate, after finishing 28th in three-point shooting this season at 33%.

The poor shooting was a main factor in the team's 37-45 finish in missing the playoffs.

Contact Vince Ellis: vellis@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.

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