Veteran sharpshooter Patty Mills is set to join the Miami Heat after recently being waived by the Atlanta Hawks, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Mills, 35, had been limited in his role with the Hawks this season, which ultimately led to the team waiving him ahead of the March 1 deadline. If he had remained on their roster past then, Mills would have been ineligible to participate in the playoffs with a new team.
The Heat, who recently signed veteran point guard Delon Wright after he was bought out his contract with the Washington Wizards, now have more experience in their backcourt with the addition of Mills. Although he has not played much the last two seasons, Mills brings championship experience from when he won the 2014 NBA Finals with the San Antonio Spurs.
Over the span of his now-15-year career, the Australian has averaged 8.9 points and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 38.9 percent from three-point range. In 19 games this season with Atlanta, the veteran averaged just 2.7 points in roughly 10.6 minutes per game while shooting 38.2 percent from three-point range.
For his career, Mills has made 1,509 threes, which ranks 49th on the NBA's all-time list.
Patty Mills' impact with Heat
Aside from his shooting abilities, Mills' presence in South Beach gives the Heat yet another veteran voice of reason in their locker room. Jimmy Butler, Kevin Love, Bam Adebayo, and Josh Richardson are all experienced players who know what it takes to win at the highest level possible in this league.
The Heat, who are coming off a magical run to the NBA Finals last season, have turned things on as of late in hopes of yet another deep postseason run. Miami has won eight of their last 10 games to move to 34-26 on the season, just a half-game behind the Orlando Magic for the 6-seed in the Eastern Conference.
While Mills may not hold that big of a role immediately, he will be an excellent mentor for some of the younger players on this roster. Not to mention, maybe he could be the next Heat veteran to hit a big three-pointer in the playoffs, similar to what Ray Allen achieved in 2013.
Mills has played in a total of 95 playoff games in his career, and he will be eligible to play in the postseason for the Heat.
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