Where Will Spurs Free Agent Patty Mills Sign?

Stick with the Spurs or cash out?

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This summer Patty Mills has a major decision to make. Not only is it a basketball decision, it will be a life decision for him.

Mills has played the majority of his NBA career in San Antonio, a franchise that is lauded for its professionalism, continuity and culture. Mills’ decision basically comes down to whether he values that over a big pay day.

It is important to remember that Mills hasn’t previously been on a big contract – his most recent contract was just $13 million over four years – and at 28, this is likely to be the only sizable contract Mills receives during his NBA career.

There’s no doubt that the league has noticed Mills’ performances on the biggest of stages, whether it be the NBA Finals with the Spurs or at the Olympics where he is Australia’s leading offensive threat, and there will be no shortage of options for him this summer.

But not every team has infinite cap space and the perfect situation for Mills to slide into. Here are the five places that Mills could end up next season.

For all the excitement of player movement and free agency, the most logical option for Mills is to just stay put in San Antonio.

Sure Mills has made his name there, but a large part of his success has to be attributed to just being in the Spurs organisation. Mills is like the 3000th player that has been trash somewhere before going to San Antonio and becoming an incredibly useful NBA player. There’s no doubt that he’d understand the player he was in Portland and just what the franchise has done for him.

Mills would also know that the guy he’s been playing behind for basically his whole career suffered a possible career-ending injury and there’s a starting spot open for him (until the Spurs go and sign Chris Paul).

The Spurs actually own Mills’ bird-rights because he has been with the team for longer than three years, which basically means they can go over the cap to pay him whatever he needs.

There’s also another advantage that the Spurs have because they simply reside in Texas: no state income tax. This means, even though the contract figure might be slightly under what he might receive elsewhere, the presence of taxes may offset the difference.

When it comes down to it, the Spurs are the perfect team for him. He’s playing for the GOAT coach at the GOAT organisation that he is familiar with, and an MVP candidate to make his life easy.

If there’s another franchise where Mills wants to go that is as close to San Antonio culture-wise, it is with the Miami Heat.

Like the Spurs, they are a model of stability and continuity – they have one of the league’s longest serving coaches in Erik Spoelstra – and they are a team with enough cap space to sign Mills.

The Heat are in as interesting a position as any team this off-season because of their bipolar 2016-17 season where they spent one half of the season with the same record as the Brooklyn Nets, and the other half beating the likes of Golden State and Cleveland.

Miami is trying to do its best to get out from the Chris Bosh contract, and according to a report from the Sun Sentinel, the two parties have been in contact about reaching a resolution.

If Mills was to go to Miami, he wouldn’t be starting there - with Goran Dragic coming off an excellent season – but he would slide into the role which he has made his own in San Antonio; leading a pesky, young bench unit.

Like Texas, Florida is also one of the seven states in the USA that has no state income tax, giving the Heat a significant advantage over other Mills suitors.

The only thing that might be a problem for Mills is the fact that Miami may not immediately contend. With Dragic, Justise Winslow, Hassan Whiteside and another incoming lottery pick, the Heat have a promising young core, but are still devoid of an All-Star that will take them to contention.

If Mills wants to earn his money as well as possibly stay in contention for a championship moving forward, Minnesota is an interesting option.

According to Bleacher Report, the Wolves are projected to have approximately $10.6M in cap space this summer, so they would have to shed some salary to allow for a Mills addition.

The Wolves can do this easily by renouncing the cap holds on impending free-agents Shabazz Muhammad and Brandon Rush, which would free up around $20 million for them to use over the summer.

After hiring Tom Thibodeau over the previous summer, the Wolves’ young core suffered under the weight of expectations and finished with a mediocre 31-51 record. However, despite the poor season, in Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine, the Wolves still possess one of the best young cores in the NBA.

Minnesota’s starting point guard, Ricky Rubio, has been a polarising figure in the Twin Cities, but the Spaniard played perhaps his best basketball post-All-Star break, and Mills would be unlikely to usurp Rubio from the starting role.

However, the Wolves’ would dearly welcome Mills’ bench production to a team whose bench ranked as one of the worst in the league last season. 

It must be said that while this team might want Patty Mills, it is uncertain whether he would want them.

Nevertheless, the Knicks can potentially clear up to $20 million in cap space this summer and have been known to throw money at point guards in the past. And as for what the hell appeals to Mills in New York, money talks.

Despite the dysfunctional nature of the Knicks, New York and its home court of Madison Square Garden is still referred to as the “Mecca” of basketball and is on the top of most players’ favourite arenas to play in.

The Knicks have their own free-agent point guard in Derrick Rose, but after a clunky first season together, it is likely that both parties agree to part ways and Rose will look elsewhere to resume his career

With Rose out of the picture and a big free agent guard such as Chris Paul unlikely to come to New York, a guy like Mills would fill the void perfectly.

Team President Phil Jackson is hell-bent on running the triangle offense that he had so much success with in Chicago and Los Angeles, and both those teams did not have star point guards, making Mills a perfect fit.

Mills’ low-usage and shooting would also be a terrific fit alongside the Knicks’ star duo of Kristaps Porzingis and Carmelo Anthony.

While the Knicks are certainly outsiders to land Mills’ signature, history has shown that this franchise with money to burn is a dangerous proposition.

Orland is one of many teams in the East that has cap space to blow and could always land a random free-agent by just throwing money at them.

Like Miami, Orlando also offers Mills the benefit of no state income tax and certainly has enough cap space to sign the veteran guard.

However, Orlando is also a franchise that is bereft of direction – the team is currently without a general manager - and should Mills go there, he is likely to experience a heavy dose of losing for the first time in a long time.

The Magic’s future is built around their young point guard Elfrid Payton and uber-athletic forward Aaron Gordon, so it is unlikely that Mills would be in a starter's role.

Orlando possesses one of the youngest rosters in the NBA and would welcome Mills’ veteran experience and would hope for him to be a culture-changer if he was to sign with them.

Mills has played in countless big games for both the Spurs and the Australian national team and his presence could also fast-track the development of Payton.

So what’s in it for Mills aside from money? Basically the list boils down to Disney World, which almost lured Spurs legend Tim Duncan from the only franchise he has ever known. 

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