Three clubs in 10 days: Boomers captain Patty Mills experiences NBA free agency madness at its finest
Boomers captain Patty Mills has joined three NBA clubs in less than two weeks – and his future still remains clouded. All the latest from the NBA off-season.
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Boomers captain Patty Mills is on the move in the NBA again, joining his third club in 10 days and there is no guarantee he won’t be traded again.
Mills has linked with the Atlanta Hawks as part of a trade – just days after landing at the OKC Thunder and Houston Rockets before being moved on in a prime example of NBA free agency madness.
The Australian guard is headed to the Hawks as part of a deal that will send TyTy Washington, Usman Garuba, Rudy Gay and a second-round pick to the Thunder in return.
It’s understood Atlanta will save $US4.5 million in the deal, but Mills still faces an uncertain future as the Hawks could move him on in another trade.
The Australian fan favourite has an expiring contract worth $US6.8 million, which will continue to have value in deals. Atlanta is still deciding whether Mills will be a part of its pre-season roster, sources said.
For now, he is a Hawk but it remains to be seen how long he stays with the franchise. The veteran guard is coming off a mixed season with the Brooklyn Nets, where he averaged just 6.2 points on 41.1 per cent shooting from the field.
Mills only played 41 games for the Nets last season, but at his best he is capable of making a superior contribution.
The Canberra-born star turns 35 in August and will want to make the most of his time left in the NBA.
Mills has a busy schedule ahead as he also prepares for this year’s World Cup, which tips off in Japan on August 25 against Finland.
The Boomers have a pre-Cup camp in Cairns from July 31 to August 10 before warm-up games in Melbourne against Venezuela, Brazil and South Sudan between August 14-17.
Could Thybulle round out Mavs’ Great Wall of Aussies?
NBA fans could see the Great Wall of Australia in Dallas next season after it emerged Boomers defensive beast Matisse Thybulle is set to link with the Mavericks alongside fellow Aussie lockdown stars Josh Green and Dante Exum.
According to US reports, Thybulle may leave Portland after agreeing to sign a three-year contract offer sheet in the $US33 million range with the Mavs.
The guard’s current club the Trailblazers have two days to match Dallas’ offer, otherwise the Australian will be Texas bound.
If this happens, Thybulle will join Green and Exum at the Mavericks to form the ultimate Australian perimeter defensive trio.
Boomers legend and former Maverick Chris Anstey would love to see three Aussies join the club where he played 82 NBA games between 1997-99.
Anstey is particularly excited because he has an NBA tour to America planned for November, including games in Dallas and OKC.
Thybulle’s looming Dallas arrival means three Australians will feature on two NBA teams next season.
It comes as Boomers duo Patty Mills and Jack White were this week traded to the OKC Thunder alongside Aussie guard Josh Giddey.
“Six Aussies within three hours of Dallas for my tour,” Anstey beamed.
Thybulle, Green and Exum will team up this August and September as part of Australia’s World Cup squad.
Boomers coach Brian Goorjian has big plans for the defensive-focused trio as the Australians aim to continue the bronze medal momentum from the Tokyo Olympics.
Goorjian pinpointed Thybulle and Exum as vital keys to helping the Boomers beat a Luka Doncic-led Slovenian side in the third-placed game.
“When it came to the (bronze) medal- Thybulle and Exum in particular were instrumental, especially with their defence on Luka,” Goorjian said.
“On the perimeter, we’ve got some real nice athletes there.
“We particularly identified Thybulle and Exum has two key pieces for the Boomers that we hadn’t had before, especially from an athletic standpoint.
“We haven’t had the length in that position with a defensive aspect as well.”
Green didn’t play a major role for the Boomers in Tokyo, but he is coming off a career-best NBA season with Dallas.
The Sydney-born guard averaged 9.1 points, shooting 72.3 per cent from the field and 40.2 per cent from three.
Goorjian has high hopes for Green to take the next step at this year’s World Cup.
“Guys like Green have length, and they can switch – it’s exciting,” he said.
“Having the youth of players like him, Thybulle and Exum -you are talking NBA level players.
The growth of Thybulle, Exum and Green – on both the domestic and international fronts – augurs well for Australia’s World Cup campaign.
The Boomers open the Cup on August 25 with a clash against Finland before two more pool games versus Germany and Japan on August 27 and 29.
OKC Boomers: Mills tipped to join Aussie duo at new home
Let’s call them the Oklahoma City Boomers.
Reports have emerged Australian basketball’s veteran leader Patty Mills is on his way to the Oklahoma City Thunder to join burgeoning young superstar Josh Giddey and newly-signed compatriot Jack White, giving the NBA club a distinctly green and gold tinge.
After a banner weekend for Aussie ballers headlined by Jock Landale’s massive four-year, US$32 million dollar windfall in Houston, Mills was initially set to join the former Melbourne United NBL grand final MVP at the Rockets in a trade with Brooklyn.
The Rockets were then touted to re-route the 34-year-old to Memphis, before ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, this morning, reported he would land in OKC as part of a broader deal that brought the Grizzlies Dillon Brooks to Houston.
Drafted by Portland with the 55th pick in the 2009 draft, Mills now joins his fourth club after winning the 2014 NBA title in San Antonio.
He is set to earn US$6.8 million next season in the second of a two-year deal he signed with the Nets.
On the weekend, fellow Boomers Landale, White, Joe Ingles and Dante Exum all found new NBA homes.
Exum, 27, gets another go in Dallas on a one-year guaranteed deal for the veterans minimum, around US$2.9 million.
He has spent the past two years rejuvenating his career in Europe, helping lead Serbian Club Partizan Belgrade to its first ABA title in a decade and joins another Aussie in young guard Josh Green at the Mavericks. The former NBA No. 5 draft pick was in the headlines last month after he was the victim of a dastardly body slam by former Boston Celtic Guerschon Yabusele during EuroLeague play and recently learned he was to become a father.
Ingles, 35, locked in his future over joining the Orlando Magic on a two-year, US$22 million agreement.
New contracts for Landale, 27, and White, 25, (two years, financial details undisclosed) were both brokered by Melbourne-born mutual agent Sammy Wloszczowski, of Sports International Group.
Landale is betting on himself with only the initial of his four years in Houston guaranteed, following a whirlwind process that involved Phoenix first tendering a qualifying offer ahead of free agency, then abruptly removing it as salary cap issues loomed. He will make US$8 million next season and back his play to lock in the ensuing years.
“A super outcome for our Aussie free agents off the back of two incredible, unique journeys,” Wloszczowski told CODE Sports.
“Jock’s been able to be financially rewarded for an exceptional tenure with the Suns and Jack has earned a well-deserved opportunity at a roster spot.”
White’s road to the NBA was complicated by a senior college season at Duke that was cut short by the pandemic and then a shocking Achilles rupture toward the end of his rookie season that left him with an arduous rehabilitation process.
But his form on returning for United in NBL22 caught the eye of the Nuggets, who signed him to a two-way deal for last season.
He became an NBA champion last month when Denver stomped Miami 4-1 and Wloszczowski was there to celebrate with the Traralgon-born athletic beast, who split time last season with the Nuggets and their G League affiliate Grand Rapids.
“For me, an Aussie winning an NBA title is the pinnacle of what I do, it’s as good as it gets,” Wloszczowski said.
“It was pretty emotional after the game, because of the hardships he’s endured.
“He undersells how inspiring his journey is but after game five I shared with him that what he’s accomplished in his first three years as a professional is as inspiring as any player I’ve ever worked with.
“There was a lot of mutual appreciation between us, but the achievement is all his, I’m just fortunate he let me play a small part in Team Jack.”
NBA futures sorted, the Aussie contingent will now focus on the Boomers’ World Cup campaign, where they are among 18 players who will battle it out for 12 spots on the team.
Landale is a walk up as the country’s starting centre, while White’s ability to play multiple positions and his reputation as the ultimate culture guy puts him firmly in the running to beat out a host of other hopeful three-fours.
Boomers coach Brian Goorjian has publicly exuded Exum’s importance to the team, while Mills’ reputation is sealed as perhaps our greatest international player.
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