The Utah Jazz have signed veteran guard Patty Mills to a one-year, $3.3 million contract.
Patty Mills and Coach Will Hardy Reunite
Mills, now 36 years old, will be playing under Jazz head coach Will Hardy. They previously worked together when Hardy was an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs from 2015 to 2021.
During his time with the Spurs, Mills averaged 10 points, nearly 2 rebounds, and close to 3 assists per game over 459 games. He had solid shooting stats too: about 42% from the field, almost 39% from three-point range, and over 86% on free throws.
In the 2019-20 season with San Antonio, he hit career-highs by averaging around 12 points per game while maintaining good shooting percentages: roughly 43% overall and just over 38% from beyond the arc.
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.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn)
Mills shined in the spotlight during the NBA Finals in 2014. He scored a total of 31 points in the last two games of that series to help defeat LeBron James and Miami Heat with some clutch three-pointers.
Back in the regular season of that year (2013-14), he ranked high in several categories: seventh in three-point percentage at about 43%, tenth in effective field goal percentage at nearly 57%, and twentieth in offensive box plus/minus at almost +3.
Recent Struggles for Mills
Despite being known for his scoring ability from long range, Mills’ role has decreased recently. His last strong season was with Brooklyn Nets during the ’21-’22 campaign where he averaged more than eleven points per game.
However, he dropped to just over six points per game for Brooklyn next season. Last year was particularly tough; it was his worst since his rookie year back with Portland Trail Blazers as he managed only four points per game across stints with Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat.
Fans feel hopeful seeing him still perform well internationally
At this year’s Paris Olympics representing Australiaโhe showed he’s still got it! Averaging around sixteen-and-a-half points per game along making more than two threes each match while hitting them at about forty-one percent clip!
In an overtime loss against Serbia who eventually won bronze medalsโMills led all scorers by putting up twenty-six points on fifty-two percent shooting! For comparison sakeโtheir star Nikola Jokic scored twenty-one but needed thirty-nine minutes compared To Millโs thirty-five!
