New York Post is reporting the Knicks are trying to lure Patty Mills with their MLE of $3.2 Mil and making him the starter.

Time to step up SPURS...

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24590787/report-knicks-interested-in-free-agent-spur-patty-mills

"starter" is something the Spurs won't match on their offer.

I'm happy we had Patty for this run. Gonna miss him.

This scenario was brought up in the Spurs thread but it comes down to playing close to starter minutes for the Spurs knowing they are a great team or playing starter minutes on a crap team.

Only Patty knows what he wants for his career progression.

The other thing to keep in mind is the Knicks say "starter" but that is just it "saying" starter...

Like no one has never had a job turn out to be something other than what it was said to be.

3.2mm in Texas >>>>> 3.2mm in NY. We can beat the money offer. But yeah I think Patty is gone. He wants to make a name for himself somewhere.

He will get more than 3.2 mil.

My guess is Boris gets 3 year 20 mil which the Spurs give him and then Patty will bring around 3 years 12-15 mil.

Question is whether the Spurs will be willing to pay that for a backup PG. I don't see Patty getting offered much more than that. Obviously if being a starter is of upmost importance to him then he's probably gone if he can get that offer elsewhere.



[This message has been edited by Sher Thing (edited 6/20/2014 10:53p).]

I don't think Boris will get much more than 5mm/year. He's made it pretty clear that he is more interested in the situation than the money. I think teams know that SA is the best situation for him with his best friend on the and a coach that plays how he wants and doesn't bust on him too much for being a fat ass.

I think he stays in SA and doesn't get many offers on the market.

I also think that most of the teams that need a PG are teams that are over the cap (like NYK.) So I don't think Patty is going to get offers much more than 3-4mm. If NYK offers 3.2+starting and SA offers 4+6th man and succeed Tony, I think Patty stays where he can win.

I mean really, do you want to play with Amare, Tyson Chandler and Andrea Bargnani or Timmy, Kawhi, Tony, Danny and Tiago. How is that a difficult choice at all? One is a constant lottery team.

All that said, I think Patty signs a deal where he can opt out in 1-2 years so he can show he is the real deal and still get a big paycheck.

Well even if you're over the cap you have exceptions. It's really hard to tell exactly right now until the new salary csp and CBA figures are released.

I think the Spurs will offer 3 yr 12 mil for patty. Just about what other teams offer at this point.

As for Boris I could see him taking 3/15 but I predict it's closer to 3/20. His last big pay day and he's played fantastic.

Leonard getting extended this summer will also be interesting to watch. I'm sure people will be shocked at the amount he gets but the spurs absolutely have to keep him no matter what.

I think the sell for patty is "be the next.Manu". Aside from hitting 3s, pattys game is SO reliant on ridiculous intensity and exertion that I think (selfishly) that his best option is to be a career 6th man specialist. The man is instant offense and energy. Dont know if his game is the same as a starter.

Wouldn't begrudge him wanting to make a name, but that's my take.

I'm sure he's on-board for fighting carmello and jr for shots

Don't think Melo will be back in new York

Mills may stay or go but the track record for role players that leave the Spurs to go elsewhere isn't great. No team knows how to accentuate the strengths of a player while concealing their weaknesses like the Spurs.

Mills for instance is great in bursts because he plays a high energy game. Doing that for 20 minutes is very different than doing it for 25. If Mills has an off night shooting he also has several guys that can pick up the slack. The Spurs can also keep him in lineups that make his size less of an issue and can play him less against teams with larger and more physical PG's. The culture of the Spurs also fits him perfectly including having a fellow Aussie to hang out with.

I will wish him luck if he leaves, Mills has shown himself to be a class act and he's a good player. If the money isn't significantly more though to go with a long contract I think he is making a mistake to leave.

FWIW, if he does leave I think you see Cojo pick up the slack nicely. Cojo isn't the shooter that Mills is but he is much bigger and a better defender. More importantly though he is only 22 and is now has enough time in the Spurs' system to start to really contribute. The Spurs have no shortage of 3 point shooters so that's not a big impact. Love to keep Patty but I don't see him staying or going as having a big impact on the Spurs' ability to repeat.

The abilities Joseph has flashed this season make me a lot more comfortable with the idea of losing Patty, but at the same time I'm not sure that CoJo actually plays better defense than Patty did this year. If you're looking for a reason Patty's playoff minutes jumped from 31 to 351 from last year to this while Joseph's dropped from 192 to 87, I think that's your culprit.

As good as the offense is, Pop still values defense too much to give up much on that end of the court. Defense is played with the feet first and few perimeter defenders move their feet better than Mills did this year.

Plus I just hate losing a team guy like Patty regardless of his considerable basketball abilities. Always bouncing off the bench to wave that towel and high five and yell, and when he's on the court he sprints over to help people up... that attitude is one of the little things that turns a group of men making millions of dollars throwing a ball at a target into a team winning titles.

His quick release, high percentage, and insane confidence shooting the ball really open things up offensively for the second unit. Joseph gives you a more varied offensive game, more youth, and a little more size, but he's not on the same planet in terms of shooting the ball.

The tough thing is you really are comparing an apple to an orange with Mills and Joseph. Mills is much more polished but is also pretty much what he is at this point. Joseph still has room to grow. I do think Joseph can improve his shooting, if for no other reason he is a mid 80's FT shooter.

Joseph is 6'3 vs 5'11 for Patty though and that's a huge difference for a PG. You can't teach size and all indications are CoJo is a worker and he has good athleticism. That sets him up to be a better defender than Mills can be. If a team gets big and physical having CoJo is a real asset.

As I said, I love Patty and hope he stays. With Parker/Mills/CoJo the Spurs have so many options to throw at teams and have a lot of protection in case Parker goes down.

There's really no reason they can't keep all three, and I hope they do. If it ain't broke, don't... break it.

[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 6/22/2014 11:39a).]

It all comes down to how the Spurs value their flexibility in the Summer of 2015.

The Spurs have set up their contracts for the past three seasons to where they all expire next summer. Besides Tiago, nobody else is on the books at the moment. Hypothetically, this would allow them to put a max player next to Leonard next Summer since the big three come off the books.

This flexibility and cap room will quickly evaporate with long term contracts to Patty, Diaw, etc. Meaning when a Tim and Manu actually do retire it won't create much more flexibility for the Spurs to go sign marquee players.

It's a pretty interesting dilemma and it will show us how much RC is planning for life after Tim.


It has nothing to do with the Spurs having the money to keep these guys. They do. It's about looking at now vs life after Tim and Manu. We have no idea what RC is thinking.

The whole issue for Patty is if either A) He wants to be a starter somewhere or B) Will someone throw stupid money at him so he leaves?

The Spurs will make him a fair offer and he won't hurt their long term cap situation really. It's just whether he wants to make a move to be a bigger player elsewhere and I can understand if he does. He's nearly 26, in his prime, and hasmade less than $4 million in his NBA career so far. A couple of million means a lot more to him than someone like Diaw who has already made $60 mill in the league and by all accounts hasn't been stupid with his money and has no wife or kids.

quote:

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This flexibility and cap room will quickly evaporate with long term contracts to Patty, Diaw, etc. Meaning when a Tim and Manu actually do retire it won't create much more flexibility for the Spurs to go sign marquee players.

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Leonard and Mills are the only players due for a big raise. Everyone else should stay about the same or take a cut on their next contract. Leonard's will hurt, but Mills's contract will probably be canceled out completely by Bonner even if the Spurs bring him back for the vet minimum. Then you've got Manu's 7 either dropping or going away entirely and Tim's 10 dropping or going away.

I'm more worried about finding a viable replacement for Duncan's talent than finding the money to pay him. Hopefully RC and Pop can pull a San Antonio Special by finding a young, hungry, overlooked player on a reasonable contract who can perform much better than he has been with a strong supporting cast and development organization around him. It's a lot tougher with big guys because everyone is looking, but I think it can be done.

Maybe the difference is that you're thinking about signing (expensive) marquee players and I don't think that's very important. The Spurs have picked up one marquee player in the last 20 years. That worked out pretty well, but it's not really what they do.


Besides, we're all forgetting Erazem Lorbek.

Actually, I really hope SA does not get into the marquee FA market. It's so TMZ.

Hopefully Baynes can get his defensive timing down a little better and get the offensive moves he has flashed working consistently. That gives you Tiago, a pretty solid Baynes, Diaw, and maybe still Duncan at 40 years of age. It's not a great lineup, but it might be good enough in the Spurs' system, especially surrounded by three point and slashing threats that play great perimeter defense. If Livio Jean-Charles turns out to be the player some think, then the Spurs will still have a ridiculous 1-3 rotation .

I'm not even sure what you are trying to say. Once Tim and Manu retire the Spurs are going to need another great player to put next to Leonard.

Prime Tony, Tim and Manu make all the role players better. Without them our role players quickly become meh.

You don't want to attract players via free agency because its tmz? lol wut.

Big difference between entering the Lebron/Carmelo/Howard-type sweepstakes (which is what I see when you say "marquee" free agents) vs going after any free agent at all. For example, I don't think going after Richard Jefferson was a bad move in theory (although obviously he turned out to be kind of bad).

Parker and Leonard are good enough to make the role players better. It gets tricky when Parker falls off, because you really want to find the next versatile 4/5 to build around but those players don't come around very often and they don't land on playoff teams.

[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 6/23/2014 12:20p).]

Patty's exit interview/medical evaluation revealed a major shoulder injury requiring surgery.

Link?

You mean he played (as well as he did) with a freaking shoulder injury? Or did that happen during the afterparty....

maybe from signing too many autographs at HEB...

It was a lingering issue all year.

quote:

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Tape job: Not long after scoring 21 points in Thursday's loss to Oklahoma City, reserve guard Patty Mills sat in his locker with his right shoulder heavily encased in ice.

It was routine maintenance for a chronic injury that predates Mills' arrival in the NBA.

“I feel like a cricketer,” the affable Australian said. “It's my bowling arm.”

Mills has been playing with the shoulder wrapped in black kinesiology tape, creating a spider-web pattern protruding from his jersey.

The tape helps increase blood flow to the affected area, reducing soreness. Other Spurs, such as Danny Green and Tiago Splitter, have used the tape to endure minor injuries throughout the season.

Mills has no clue about the science behind the tape, but has been pleased with the results.

“I have no idea,” Mills said. “It just makes it feel better.”

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http://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/Spurs-prepare-for-uncertain-playoff-foe-5377170.php

Yeah, I know about the lingering issue, just curious what information is out there regarding surgery and how long he'll be out.

Hopefully this scares everyone off from Patty and allows the Spurs to sign him for a 1 year deal (or even better a cheap multi-year deal)

Since the Knicks just traded for Calderon does that mean they aren't interested in Mills as a starter any more?

I would think Calderon with his contract will definitely start for NY. The trade also means the mavs are likely out of the Pau Gasol sweepstakes. I think Griz or Spurs are his most likely destination.

Knicks also got Shane Larkin from the Mavs, and he wants to be the next Patty Mills.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/dallas-mavericks/headlines/20140617-why-2014-summer-league-so-important-for-mavericks-pg-shane-larkin.ece

[This message has been edited by MGS (edited 6/27/2014 9:07a).]