Patty Mills signing with Miami Heat on NBA buyout market
MIAMI — Amid concern that Josh Richardson will miss extended time with the shoulder dislocation that has had him sidelined since Feb. 11, the Miami Heat are planning to sign veteran point guard Patty Mills.
The move to Mills comes in the wake of the Heat last month adding Delon Wright for backcourt depth. Like Wright, Mills will be playoff eligible. Mills was waived by the Atlanta Hawks by last Friday’s deadline for such eligibility.
Mills, 35, becomes the latest player to join the Heat after having previous career success against the Heat. Mills was part of the San Antonio Spurs roster that lost to the Heat in the 2013 NBA Finals and then defeated the Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals.
The 6-foot-2 native of Australia continues a significant overhaul at point guard for the Heat, one that began with Terry Rozier being acquired from the Charlotte Hornets for Kyle Lowry, who since has moved on to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The move to Mills comes at the cost of Smith, who was injured on a misstep in the Heat’s Nov. 22 road victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, having not played since.
Smith also had a non-guaranteed Heat option on his contract for next season. He has been rehabilitating at the team’s facilities and will be allowed to continue to do so.
Mills also arrives with combo guard Tyler Herro dealing with an ongoing foot issue, sidelined again for Tuesday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons at Kaseya Center.
The Pistons game is the eighth in a row missed by Richardson with what is listed as a dislocated right shoulder. The game against Detroit is the fifth in a row missed by Herro, the first three listed as out with a hyperextended left knee, these past two as being out due to medial tendinitis in his right foot.
The move to Mills comes in the wake of Monday’s deadline for teams to sign players to two-way contracts. The Heat did not act at that deadline, remaining with Jamal Cain, Cole Swider and Alondes Williams as the three-play maximum on those contracts. Cain and Williams have been sent to the G League Sioux Falls Skyforce, while Swider remains with the Heat.
Unlike with Mills and Wright, players on two-way contracts are ineligible for the playoffs.
Players waived by March 1 are eligible for playoff eligibility elsewhere provided they are on standard contract and are signed prior to the April 14 regular-season finale, meaning there was so specific date the Heat needed to reach an agreement with Mills.
With the addition of Mills, the Heat are at the NBA maximum of 15 players under standard contract and three under two-way contracts.
By waiving Smith to create room for Mills, the Heat will increase their payment against the punitive NBA luxury tax.
A 2009 second-round pick by the Portland Trail Blazers, Mills has played for the Spurs, Brooklyn Nets and Hawks, with his longest tenure coming under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio from 2012 to 2021.
The winner of the NBA’s Sportsmanship Award in 2022, Mills has averaged 8.9 points, 2.2 assists and 1.7 rebounds over his 879 NBA regular season appearances. This season, he had been averaging 2.7 points, 0.7 assists and 1.1 rebounds in limited minutes in 19 appearances for the Hawks. He is a career .389 3-point shooter, at .382 from beyond the arc this season.
