Beloved Aussie Patty Mills agrees to $5m deal with NBA side Utah Jazz
Australian basketball veteran Patty Mills will continue his career in the NBA after joining the Utah Jazz.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski revealed Mills and the Jazz had agreed on a one-year deal that is worth US$3.3 million (A$5m).
The new move will see Mills play a 16th season in the NBA and comes after a brilliant Olympics campaign.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The Boomers only won one match, but went within a whisker of knocking off eventual silver medallists Serbia in the quarter-finals.
Mills was outstanding in that game with a game-high 26 points.
The 36-year-old fan favourite will reunite with coach Will Hardy at the Jazz, which will be his fifth NBA team.
Mills and Hardy spent time six seasons together at the Spurs when Hardy was an assistant under master coach Gregg Popovich.
After departing the Spurs in 2021, Mills spent two years at Brooklyn before he was traded three times within a week to end up at the Atlanta Hawks.
He was waived midway though the 2023-24 season, but landed a lifeline at Miami.
He only managed a combined 32 games for the Hawks and Heat last season, averaging just 4.2 points per game.
After the Boomers’ Olympics exit, Mills all but conceded his time with the national team would be coming to an end.
“We’ve just enjoyed every moment of this journey,” he said.
He steered the Boomers to a breakthrough Tokyo bronze three years ago, relief after the pain of four gut-wrenching fourth-placed finishes for the program.
“It hasn’t been a smooth-sailing ship, but you do it together and you never take those moments for granted,” Mills said.
“But through the thick and thin and ups and downs, happy tears, sad tears, it’s been an incredible journey to be able to share with those guys.”
- With AAP
Originally published on 7NEWS Sport
