Patty Mills may be done playing for Australia in international competition, but that doesn't mean that his NBA career is also done and dusted. On Wednesday morning, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that Mills has signed with the Utah Jazz on a one-year, $3.3 million deal.
Mills will be reuniting with Jazz head coach Will Hardy, whom he spent six seasons with back when Hardy was still an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich for the San Antonio Spurs. While Mills is expected to provide some veteran leadership and stability for a young Jazz team at 36 years of age, he showed during the 2024 Paris Olympics that he still has some gas left in the tank.
The veteran guard averaged 16.5 points per game across four games on 41/42/100 shooting splits, and he saved his best for last in a spirited effort against Serbia in the quarterfinals of the competition. Patty Mills scored 26 points on 11-20 shooting from the field in a heartbreaking 95-90 overtime loss for Australia, with the 36-year-old being responsible for sending the game to an extra period after nailing a difficult shot over Nikola Jokic in the dying seconds of regulation.
Mills is coming off the worst season of his NBA career since his sophomore year. He only played in 32 games last season, splitting time between the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat, and he averaged just 4.0 points on a career-worst 35.1 percent shooting from the field and 27.6 percent from beyond the arc.
How much does Patty Mills have left to give for the Jazz?
Patty Mills has slowed down considerably from his days as one of the most reliable guards coming off the bench in the association. His stint with the Heat did not look too promising for his NBA future; he put up 5.8 points for Miami but on a paltry 34 percent shooting from the field and 21 percent from beyond the arc.
For the Jazz, however, Mills may end up not playing too many games. The focus for Utah is to develop their talented young guards, which makes Mills the perfect veteran to bring in as an example of professionalism and work ethic. In addition to already having young guards such as Collin Sexton and Keyonte George on the roster, the Jazz also brought in Cody Williams and Isaiah Collier via the draft.
With all that said, the 36-year-old is very likely to start the season outside of the Jazz's rotation. Even then, when called upon, Mills should be ready to perform to the best of his abilities — as seen in the way he seemed to turn back the clock during Australia's stint in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Mills did not have the best of games against Canada and Greece during the Olympics, but in a win against Spain and a near-victory over Serbia, the veteran guard was at his best. In a 12-point win over Spain, Mills went 6-12 from the field to finish with 19 points, and during their quarterfinal defeat to Serbia, he led the team in scoring and nearly willed them to victory.
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