Olympic Basketball 2024: The move Patty Mills has to make after NBA axing

Patty Mills is without a team after being cut by NBA’s Atlanta Hawks — and the equation is simple for the Boomers captain as he weighs up his next move ahead of the Olympics.

Patty Mills has been waived by Atlanta after playing just 19 of the Hawks’ 58 games so far this season. Picture: Getty Images

Australia’s GOAT Andrew Gaze says Patty Mills must prioritise court time — even if that means he has to leave the NBA — if he wants to perform at his best at a remarkable fifth Olympic Games.

Mills was on Friday axed by Atlanta and it’s understood the 35-year-old will attempt to tack on with a contender in his search for a fifth NBA team since June last year.

But five-time Olympian Gaze, one of the sport’s most respected voices, says the equation is simple for Mills — he must play ahead of Paris.

“For Patty I see this as a chance to find a new home and, selfishly from an Australian standpoint, a place where he is playing more basketball in the lead up to the Paris Olympics.

“If that happens to be in Europe, Asia or wherever, the fact that he is playing is better than what he was doing in Atlanta this season.

“Patty isn’t the asset he once was, but he could be a perfect piece for a contending team because he can help on-and-off the floor.”

Patty Mills has been urged to prioritise court time ahead of the Olympics. Picture: Getty Images

In the wake of his Hawks’ departure, Mills’ camp remained tight-lipped on his next move.

“Sorry, don’t have a statement on this, thanks for reaching out, though,” spokeswoman Bari Yorke said, when contacted by Code Sports.

Mills has endured a tumultuous time in the US: in June, he was traded four times in 10 days, landing in Atlanta where he was stuck on the bench until injury hit the Hawks.

The 188cm guard is a proven performer at FIBA level who is meticulous in his preparation but the lack of in-game practice is a huge concern for national selectors — he’s only appeared in 19 of a possible 58 games, averaging 10.6 minutes, the fewest in 15 years — his rookie season in 2008-09. Across those 19 games, he averaged just 2.7 points and 1.1 rebounds but is still elite from the outside, shooting 38 per cent from deep.

Boomers coach Brian Goorjian, when contacted by Code Sports this morning, had already reached out to Mills.

“I saw Patty’s situation this morning and I told him I am here if I can help in any way,” Goorjian said.

“Nothing has changed (in regard to Paris).”

Patty Mills is on the lookout for a new club. Picture: Getty Images

Goorjian met with Mills in the US prior to Christmas to discuss his role, likely off the bench and as a veteran presence who can provide guidance to the next generation of Boomers.

“Patty, there is a role for him and now it’s coming to terms with what that role is and then the culture and the handing over of that was talked about in detail,” Goorjian said at the time.

“He’s a huge part of that and I walked away from there feeling really good about the next meeting with Patty and that he gets it.”

Fellow Boomers great Chris Anstey echoed Gaze in urging Mills to consider a switch to Europe to ensure he is as prepared as possible for the Paris campaign.

“This could be a really interesting few months for @Patty_Mills,” Anstey wrote on X.

“Taking a high level, high opportunity European contract to finish the European season could be the best preparation for his final Olympic Games.”

Patty Mills has been cut by the Atlanta Hawks. Picture: Getty Images

The Hawks moved to waive Mills a day before the NBA’s March 1 buyout deadline, giving him the chance to sign with another team and remain eligible to play in the playoffs.

Mills has played in just 19 of Atlanta’s 58 games so far this season after he was traded from Brooklyn to Houston, Oklahoma City and then the Hawks during a wild off-season last year.

Mills was due to return to Brooklyn for the first time since then on Thursday night (local time), before it was revealed that he had been waived.

Atlanta coach Quin Snyder praised Mills’s work ethic during an up-and-down season, saying it had been “an absolute pleasure having the chance to coach him”.

“He’s someone you’re glad your paths crossed … I’ve been a fan of his from afar, a fan of the Boomers because of Joe Ingles, and I’ve followed him for a long time,” he said, referencing his previous stint coaching Mills’s fellow Australian veteran in Utah.

“Patty’s the type of professional that you point to for how you handle everything across the board – the good times, the bad times, the successes, the failures.”

“We’re grateful that we had a chance to have him here for a short time and we wish him all the best.”

Patty Mills has a big decision to make with the Olympics looming. Picture: Getty Images

On the eve of the season, Australian coach Brian Goorjian said he hoped Mills could return to the San Antonio Spurs, where he spent a decade of his 15-year NBA career and won a championship in 2014.

Mills has a close relationship with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, while former Boomers coach Brett Brown and Mills’s ex-Australian teammate Matt Nielsen are now both assistants on the San Antonio bench.

“I’d love to see him back at San Antonio and finish his career there,” Goorjian said.

He said at the time that Mills “hasn’t lost anything physically” and that there was “nobody fitter” at the Boomers camp heading into last year’s World Cup than the team’s captain, even though he had also seen limited court time in his final season with the Nets.

“He’s incredible in working and keeping his skills honed,” Goorjian said.

“He doesn’t miss workouts, he eats right, he’s always ready.”

Mills’s uncertain future caps a difficult few months for Australia’s guards in the NBA, with Josh Giddey struggling to adapt to a more limited role in Oklahoma City, New Orleans’s Dyson Daniels facing a lengthy stint on the sidelines with a knee injury, and Dante Exum only just returning to the court after injuries slowed his stunning NBA return in Dallas.

Originally published as Olympic Basketball 2024: The move Patty Mills has to make after NBA axing