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2025 Free Agents - Patty Mills

After briefly looking like he was going to fall out of the league, Mills showed in '20-'21 that he can still contribute as a player, and continued that level of play with the Nets in '21-'22. He regressed a bit in '22-'23, and got very few minutes in '23-'24. Mills is a microwave scorer off the bench, hitting 41% from three for his career and 38% over the last four seasons, and letting it fly whenever he gets an opening. He's a legitimate scoring threat when he gets some space coming screens or just in spot-up situations. He has an interesting pattern where he shoots really well early in the season and tails off as the season progresses, which has been a consistent theme over the past few years, but he still finishes at a high rate as a three-point shooter. Due to his size, Mills doesn't thrive on defense, but he's not a complete target that some players of his stature are. Mills has never been an elite playmaker or someone that you want running pick-and-rolls, but he fits in well with second units or teams with wings that operate as primary ball-handlers. He still moves well and can hit shots, which makes him a weapon on offense. Mills will be nearly 37 years as a free agent in 2025. He is coming off a couple poor seasons, where he played his fewest minutes per game in a decade, and overall did not do much to suggest he can still be an impact player, but could be a good locker room presence as a well-liked veteran.

Summary

Mills will be an unrestricted free agent with a $2.3 million cap hold and Non-Bird Rights. Since they will only have his Non-Bird Rights, the most they could offer him using the Non-Bird Exception is a contract starting at $4.4 million. Alternatively, the Jazz could use cap space or the Room MLE, if they operate under the cap, or their MLE or BAE, if they operate over the cap, to re-sign him if he demands more than $4.4 million. Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Mills as even teams without cap space could likely use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. It's also likely that he only gets minimum offers, and may not even get fully-guaranteed offers.

Cap Considerations

Cory Joseph (2-1 year minimum, 2024) Patrick Beverley (Overseas, 2024) Garrett Temple (1 year minimum, 2024)

Player/Contract Comparison

Potential Teams: Celtics, Magic, Jazz, Clippers, Warriors

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $3.6 million (non-guaranteed) with the Celtics

Last updated: 10/13/2024

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