Source: Cavs, Clippers trade players

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Posted 8:00AM on Tuesday, July 30, 2002

CLEVELAND - Andre Miller is headed home, traded to the Clippers in a deal involving Darius Miles. Miller, the NBA's assist leader last season, and forward Bryant Stith have been dealt by the Cleveland Cavaliers to Los Angeles for Miles and Harold Jamison, The Associated Press has learned. The teams completed the trade Monday and it will be announced Tuesday, a team source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AP. Neither team would comment Monday night. The Cavs and Clippers had been working on a deal for more than a month. They thought one was set on draft night last month only to have it fall through. The sides remained in contact the past few weeks and finally reached an agreement. Miller averaged 16.5 points and a league-leading 10.9 assists last season. The 26-year-old guard from Los Angeles can become a restricted free agent after this season, and he had made it clear to the Cavs he wanted a maximum contract. But the Cavaliers had no plans to pay nearly $80 million to Miller, who will make $2.5 million next season. Owner Gordon Gund has denied he is selling the team. The Cavaliers also didn't want to negotiate any new deal until Miller became an unrestricted free agent next season. In exchange for Miller, the Cavs are getting Miles, a 6-9 bundle of energy and athleticism the club hopes can boost ticket sales at lifeless Gund Arena next season and beyond. He averaged 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds last season and helped the Clippers partially shed their woeful image as one of the league's worst teams. Miles, who turns 21 in October, was taken by the Clippers with the No. 3 pick in the 2000 NBA draft out of high school. He averaged 9.4 points in 81 games as a rookie, and showed flashes of future stardom. Miller's departure means the Cavs need a point guard. That job could go to rookie Dajuan Wagner, a shooting guard taken by Cleveland with the sixth pick in last month's draft. Wagner has played well during the Cavs' summer league. The Cavs also could trade for a point guard and reportedly are interested in Antonio Daniels, who is on the trading block in San Antonio. Cleveland's only other point guard under contract is 33-year-old Bimbo Coles, who was slowed by knee injuries last season. The Clippers have two other point guards - Keyon Dooling, who was limited to 14 games last season because of an ankle injury, and 23-year-old Marko Jaric, a second-round draft pick two years ago who signed a multiyear contract recently. Jaric has been playing in the Italian League. Jeff McInnis, the starter last season, is an unrestricted free agent who has yet to be signed. His backup, former Cavalier Earl Boykins, was released by the Clippers last month. Jamison, 25, was signed as a free agent by the Clippers shortly before the start of last season. He averaged 1.9 points and 1.6 rebounds in 25 games. Stith, 31, missed 12 games last season because of a hip flexor and underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last week. He is not expected to miss the start of training camp in October.