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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz are signing veteran point guard Patty Mills to a one-year deal, according to ESPN.
Mills, who turned 36 last week, will enter his 16th NBA season this fall. He is mostly known for his 10-year run with the San Antonio Spurs — where he played under current Jazz head coach Will Hardy — and for his Olympic heroics with Australia.
Mills, who is nicknamed "FIBA Patty" during international events, led Australia to a bronze medal in 2021 in Tokyo and may have proved he has something left in the tank this summer in Paris.
He scored 26 and shot 52% from the field in Australia's quarterfinal loss to Serbia, who went on to win the bronze.
His NBA numbers have been in decline, though.
Mills played in just 32 games last season between the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat, and shot 35% from the field and 27% from 3-point range. MIll is a career 38% 3-point shooter.
But his addition to the Jazz is a move that brings in a veteran leader for a young team, and it doesn't hurt that he already has a strong relationship with Hardy. The move also continues Utah's free agency trend of essentially kicking its cap space down the road to next season.
The Jazz have now signed MIlls, center Drew Eubanks, forward Svi Mykhailiuk and guard Johnny Juzang to contracts with only the first year guaranteed. That provides the team with some easy options to clear some cap space if it chooses to chase free agents next summer.
