It sounds like we’ve seen the last of CJ Miles in a Washington Wizards uniform this season.
The Washington Wizards have been no stranger to injuries through the first quarter of the season. Fortunately, most of them have been minor, short-lived injuries. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case for CJ Miles and his left wrist injury.
Miles suffered the injury during a November loss to the Denver Nuggets and has missed the Wizards’ last seven games. Candace Buckner of the Washington Post reported that Miles saw a specialist earlier this month and could face a four-month rehab process, which would, unfortunately, end his season.
It appears as though the team’s worst fears have been realized. According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, the Wizards have applied for the Disabled Player Exception (DPE) for Miles, essentially admitting that he will be out for the remainder of the season.
The Wizards have applied for the disabled player exception for CJ Miles, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA. Miles hasn’t played since Nov. 26 because of a left wrist injury.
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) December 9, 2019
It’s yet to be seen whether the Wizards will be awarded the DPE or not. If they do get it, they’ll have roughly $4.4 Million at their disposal to find a Miles replacement. They can use that money to sign a free agent or to trade for a player on an expiring deal.
Applying for the DPE doesn’t guarantee that the Wizards will get it. Earlier this season they were denied a DPE for John Wall who is still rehabbing his Achilles injury. Judging by what we’ve seen from Wall recently, though, it’s hard to blame them for denying the Wizards that one.
So far this season, the 32-year-old Miles has played in just 10 games. Despite only a handful of appearances, Miles had already put up a couple of solid performances from the bench, including a 21-point night against the Orlando Magic.
For the season, Miles was averaging 6.4 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in just over 16 minutes per game. With his extended injury, the Wizards are now frighteningly thin at the wing position. In addition to Miles, Jordan McRae is currently out after having surgery to remove a dislodged pin in his finger. He’s set to miss at least another week. With both of them out, expect to see a lot of Isaac Bonga and Troy Brown Jr.
If Miles is in fact done for the season, he will finish with ten Wizards games to his name. Coincidentally, that’s one more than Dwight Howard played in during his disaster season in Washington. Howard was traded for Miles back in July.