A little over a week after his Australian team lost to Serbia in the 2024 Paris Olympics, veteran guard Patty Mills has reportedly found a new home in the NBA. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Mills has signed a one-year, $3.3 million deal with the Utah Jazz. As Wojnarowski mentioned in a post on X, this move will reunite Mills with head coach Will Hardy. Hardy and Mills spent time together with the San Antonio Spurs from 2015 to 2021.
Free agent guard Patty Mills has agreed on a one-year, $3.3 million deal with the Utah Jazz, sources tell ESPN. Mills will reunite with coach Will Hardy for his 16th NBA season on a fully guaranteed deal. pic.twitter.com/n479XigF6s
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 14, 2024
Last season, the 36-year-old spent time with the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat. In 32 total games played, Mills averaged 4 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game.
Throughout his 15-year career, Mills has also spent time with the Portland Trail Blazers and Brooklyn Nets. In 2014, Mills won his first career NBA title with the Spurs. En route to a five-game series victory against the Heat, Mills averaged 10.2 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists off the bench. Additionally, he shot 54.3% from the floor and 56.5% from beyond the arc in the series.
Utah Jazz Are Reportedly Signing Former NBA Champion
What Patty Mills Brings to Utah
At this stage of his career, Mills is more of a locker room presence than an on-court contributor. However, if he does crack the rotation, Mills is still an excellent shooter. Additionally, he can provide a scoring boost off the bench. He will likely get some minutes with the Jazz. However, it is clear that his main role will be to mentor some of the young guards on the team. Most notably, Keyonte George will likely benefit the most from Mills’ arrival.
Additionally, Mills has championship experience, which is always valuable to any NBA team. Outside of Mills, only the recently-signed Svi Mykhailiuk has a championship ring on the team. While the Jazz are unlikely to contend for an NBA championship this season, they have been on the playoff bubble each of the last two seasons. To get over the hump and make the playoffs for the first time since 2022, adding somebody like Mills could pay dividends all season.
The Last Word on Patty Mills
Mills is a long-time NBA veteran whose best years in the league are clearly behind him. However, he was impressive during the 2024 Paris Olympics and can still offer a lot to a team like the Jazz. Utah has made a flurry of moves since they officially extended star Lauri Markkanen to a long-term contract. In addition to adding Mills and Mykhailiuk to the team, Utah has signed Johnny Juzang to a four-year deal, Babacar Sane to a training camp deal, and Oscar Tshiebwe to a two-way contract. With just a few months left until the beginning of the 2024-25 season, it will be worth monitoring Utah’s activity for the rest of the offseason this summer.
