Patty Mills signs with Utah Jazz for 16th season in the NBA

Patty Mills volition play a 16th play successful the NBA aft the Utah Jazz handed the Aussie superstar a vocation lifeline.

Mills starred for the Boomers astatine the Olympics, with FIBA Patty astir dragging Australia implicit the enactment successful what was yet a 95-90 overtime nonaccomplishment to Nikola Jokic’s Serbia successful the quarterfinals.

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The 36-year-old, who is expected to discontinue from planetary basketball, gave Australia 1 past masterpiece, hitting 26 points, including 20 successful the archetypal fractional and a clutch fadeaway jumper implicit Jokic with 1.4 seconds near connected the timepiece to nonstop the crippled to overtime.

It wasn’t capable arsenic the Boomers gave up a 24-point lead and were bundled retired of the Olympics, incapable to support their bronze from Tokyo.

But the starring relation has travel astatine the cleanable clip for Mills, who was stuck successful NBA limbo aft a tumultuous 2023-24 season.

Mills was traded aft 2 seasons astatine the Brooklyn Nets, having been traded to Houston, Oklahoma City and yet landing astatine the Atlanta Hawks.

Mills was axed by Atlanta a time earlier the NBA’s March 1 buyout deadline, having played conscionable 19 of the Hawks’ archetypal 58 games with an mean of 10 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists.

It was believed it whitethorn person been the extremity of Mills’ NBA vocation with calls for him to get crippled clip successful Europe, but the Aussie finished his play successful Miami, improving to 5.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists successful an mean of 16.4 minutes crossed 13 games.

But his short-term woody ended aft the playoffs, again leaving Mills without a home.

Until now.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Mills had signed a $US3.3m ($A5m), one-year afloat guaranteed woody for the 2024/25 season.

Mills, who won an NBA title with the San Antonio Spurs successful 2014, a squad helium spent a decennary with, volition reunite with erstwhile Spurs adjunct and existent Jazz manager Will Hardy.

It’s not expected that Mills volition beryllium a prima for the Jazz arsenic the broadside rebuilds aft with young guards Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier expected to beryllium taken nether the Aussies’ wing.

Former Boomers and NBA prima Ryan Broekhoff saidMills’ acquisition would beryllium invaluable.

“Patty has done capable successful the NBA for teams to cognize who helium is,” Broekhoff said via the Herald Sun.

“He’s a coagulated vet for a young team.

“I wouldn’t expect a heap of playing clip for him determination arsenic (Jordan) Clarkson fills his relation arsenic the scoring punch disconnected the bench.”

It’ll beryllium Mills’ sixth NBA squad aft stints astatine the Portland Trailblazers, Spurs, Nets, Hawks and Heat.

Mills’ was the Boomers’ 2nd champion scorer successful Paris, averaging 16.5 points, much than 2 3 points and a shooting percent of implicit 40 per cent from beyond the arc.