The Trail Blazers have signed point guard Andre Miller to a multi-year contract, the team confirmed this afternoon.
“We are excited to add a player of the caliber and character of Andre Miller,” general manager Kevin Pritchard said. “He is one of the league’s ironmen who brings a wealth of veteran leadership to our team and is a great fit for our young and improving roster.”
Miller, 33, averaged 16.3 points, 6.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds last season for Philadelphia, his 10th in the NBA.
He is regarded as a deft passer, particularly in throwing lob passes, and is known more for finishing inside – usually after a pump fake – than he is from making perimeter shots. Last season, he made only 28.3 percent from three-point range and during his career he is a 21 percent three-point shooter.
The team did not disclose terms, but agent Andy Miller said the Blazers would exhaust nearly all of their $7.7 million in cap space to sign Miller.
“It’s a perfect fit, I have always felt that way,” Andy Miller said. “I think he can take the Blazers to the next level in their quest for a championship.”
The Blazers tried to acquire Miller at the February trading deadline, but couldn’t agree on a deal with the Sixers, the agent said.
Miller was the Blazers’ third choice in the free agent market, and their pursuit intensified in the last 24 to 36 hours, about the same time the Blazers pulled away from talks with New York free agent forward David Lee.
According to Mark Bartelstein, Lee’s agent, the forward met with the Blazers this week in Las Vegas, after which talks increased. However, on Thursday evening, the two sides agreed to part ways.
“We agreed it wasn’t a perfect fit,” Bartelstein said. “There was a lot of conversation, a lot of back-and-forth, but there were a lot of issues on both sides.”
Bartelstein said the Blazers explored a sign-and-trade with the Knicks, but New York president Donnie Walsh recoiled at the offers. Meanwhile, Lee’s camp had questions about his role on the Blazers, who have a solid front line with LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla. The Blazers also were wary of Lee’s restricted status, which would allow New York to match any offer. It was the same scenario the Blazers encountered last week when Utah matched a four-year, $32 million offer for Paul Millsap.
“I think they were concerned about a match,” Bartelstein said. “They wanted to be 100 percent sure.”
The Blazers got their assurance in Miller, a durable player who has never missed more than two games in a season. He received only mild interest from Philadelphia, where he played for the past two and a half seasons. The Sixers offered him a one-year deal, worth around $6 million. The Knicks also flirted with Miller, but the Blazers had the most money to accommodate him.
The signing of Miller gives the Blazers experience and depth at point guard.
Returning starter Steve Blake is coming off an effective year, when he averaged a career-high 11.0 points and shot a career-high 42.7 percent from three-point range. He also added 5.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds and was fifth in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio.
The Blazers also have Jerryd Bayless, a second-year guard, who played to mixed reviews during the Las Vegas Summer League this month.
The signing gives the Blazers 11 players under contract, a figure that is expected to reach 13 once second-round draft picks Jeff Pendergraph and Dante Cunningham are signed. It is unclear whether the Blazers will make another move before October’s training camp.
Miller played four seasons at the University of Utah, where he was a first-team All-American his senior season. Cleveland selected him with the 8th overall pick in the 1998 draft, after which he was named to the All-Rookie first team. He played three seasons in Cleveland, one for the Los Angeles Clippers and three-plus seasons in Denver before being traded to Philadelphia in the deal that brought Allen Iverson to Denver.