Jazz will give Miles the time he needs

For the time being, his name can be penciled in as the backup shooting guard on arguable versions of the Jazz's current offseason depth chart.

To suggest it will be there when training camp opens in October, however, might be a stretch.

In fact, to imply C.J. Miles might be the biggest beneficiary of the Jazz recent three-team trade with Sacramento and Memphis probably is going too far — even if on paper it may seem so.

The night the Jazz tapped the Dallas Skyline High School 2 guard in the second round of the June 28 NBA Draft, shooting guards Raja Bell, Gordan Giricek and Kirk Snyder all were well ahead of Miles.

Three days later, though, Bell pledged to Phoenix via free agency.

Then came last Friday's trade, which when it is approved as expected by the NBA early next week will send Snyder to Memphis along with center Curtis Borchardt and the contract of point guard Raul Lopez as part of a six-player swap that also brings veteran center Greg Ostertag back to Utah from Sacramento.

That — again, on paper — might seem to leave just Giricek standing between Miles and a starting job. Reality, however, suggests the young Texan has plenty of distance to traverse before being ready.

For starters, he just turned 18 last March.

Moreover, after a decent start in this month's Rocky Mountain Revue — a couple of 2-for-5 shooting games to start, and flashes of terrific natural instincts, not bad for a kid fresh from high school — Miles faded fast. He missed all nine of his shots in his last two NBA summer-league games.

"We've been pleased with his effort, and we're pleased with his knowledge of the game," Jazz basketball operations senior vice president Kevin O'Connor said after the Revue concluded last Friday. "He's really understood how to play."

Still, the McDonald's and Parade High School All-American has ground to make up.

Even after the Synder trade, agreed to on the Revue's closing day, the Jazz will not be tempted to thrust Miles into tackling more than he can handle.

"He'll dictate the pace," O'Connor said earlier this week, "but I think you still bring him along slowly."

So while Miles hits the weight room hard to transform his body and gain the strength he needs to knock down NBA jumpers with consistency, the Jazz's quest for shooting help is on.