Miles sits out Revue to test restricted free-agent market

First-round rookie Morris Almond is at the Rocky Mountain Revue, making a case for minutes at shooting guard next season. Last year's first-rounder, Ronnie Brewer, is fighting through hamstring and ankle injuries but was observing from the bench Saturday night, hoping at least to learn by watching. And journeyman Jason Hart, who on Friday night accepted terms on a two-year contract worth about $5 million, will spend the early part of this week in Utah formalizing his agreement.

C.J. Miles?

The 2005 draft choice is nowhere to be seen around these parts, skipping the Revue to instead test — and protect — his fate as a restricted free agent in the NBA's summer shopping market.

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan took a shot at Miles for the agent-driven decision last week, suggesting it was in the 20-year-old's best interest to play as much as possible during the summer league — especially knowing he'll have to beat out Almond, Brewer and now Hart for playing time should he indeed return to Utah.

Jazz basketball operations senior vice president Kevin O'Connor, however, seems to understand the pickle Miles is in.

Miles has a $945,610 qualifying offer from the Jazz on the table, and it can be protected by insurance. But there always is the uninsurable risk of catastrophic injury that could impact future earning power beyond next season.

"Coach (Sloan) should feel the way he feels, because he's coaching," O'Connor said. "He wants C.J. to get better.

"(Miles') side of the story is something that you listen to, and you respect," O'Connor added. "I mean, there's always two sides to the deal. Would we rather have him here? Yeah. Am I disappointed ... Yeah."

Still, he gets it.

"I told (the agent) what I thought the pluses and minuses were," O'Connor said. "But ... if you pressure somebody, and he gets hurt, then where are you? If he wanted to be here, great. If he'd listened to what we had to say and it made some sense, great. It didn't; we move on."

O'Connor, though, said Saturday that Utah, even after acquiring Hart, remains interested in bringing back Miles. Yet the Jazz also respect his right to chase full market value.

That is what Miles and his agent continue to do — perhaps inspired by the fact Detroit recently re-signed restricted free agent Amir Johnson to a three-year, $11 million deal that was based largely on potential.

Johnson, like Miles, is a 20-year-old who has limited NBA experience and was taken straight out of high school in the second round of the '05 draft.

"C.J.," Miles' agent, New York-based Billy Ceisler, said early last week, "has only shown glimpses of what his future can be.