10 days 3 teams, where is the next stop for this CBA abandoner?
On July 9, 2023, the Hawks completed a 4-for-1 deal with the Thunder, specifically for the Hawks to exchange Washington + Garuba + Gay + 1 future second-round pick for Mills. This is Mills' third trade in 10 days, and whether he can stay with the Hawks is unknown. The thigh on the international court became a homeless man in the NBA.
Mills played for the Nets last season, and to avoid taxes, the Nets sent Mills + a second-round pick to the Rockets on July 2 for a second-round pick. To make room, the Rockets ran a 5-team big trade to send Mills + multiple second-round picks to the Thunder. This time it was sent to the Hawks by the Thunder, and Mills was traded as frequently as Ariza back then. Some fans joked that if Mills needed to report to the team every time he traded, he might not be able to get out of the airport these days.
Mills is very distinctive, fast, good shooting, if it is one-on-one, it is difficult for anyone to prevent him. Below, let's take a look at Mills' story. Born on August 11, 1988 in Canberra, Australia, Mills entered the NBA through the draft in 2009, won the NBA championship with the Spurs in 2013-14, and won the Sportsmanship Award in 2021-22.
In particular, during the NBA shutdown in 2011, Mills briefly joined Xinjiang and played a total of 12 games, averaging 34.5 minutes per game, scoring 26.5 points, 3.82 rebounds, 3.75 assists and 2.25 steals. Later, on suspicion of fraud, in January 2012, the Xinjiang team cut Mills.
Mills' parents are Indigenous Australians, and his uncle was the first Indigenous basketball player to represent Australia at the Olympics. Influenced by his uncle, Mills fell in love with basketball. At the age of 4, Mills joined his parents' basketball team as a point guard.
At the age of 16, Mills received a full scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport. In 2007, Mills entered St. Mary's University, where he was named to the West Coast Conference All-NBA First Team during both seasons.
In the 2009 NBA Draft, Mills was selected by the Trail Blazers with the 55th overall pick. His best performance in two years with the Blazers was in 2010-11, where he averaged 5.5 points and 1.7 assists in 12 minutes per game.
On March 28, 2012, after being cut by Xinjiang, the Spurs announced the signing of Mills. Mills spent a total of 10 years with the Spurs, the best 10 years of his career. One of the best seasons was 2019-20, where he averaged 22.5 minutes, 11.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists. In the 2013-14 season, he won the NBA championship with the Spurs.
On August 4, 2021, Mills signed with the Nets. The Nets have three All-Stars, Durant, Irving, and Harden, and this signing of Mills is to hug his thighs, but for various reasons, this journey to hold his thighs ended in failure. However, this did not affect Mills' excellent performance, and he had a 9-of-12 three-point shooting in a single game with the Nets, and scored 34 points on 8 three-pointers in the Christmas game with the Lakers. At the Nets, Mills received the Sportsmanship Award.
Although Mills' achievements in the NBA are not impressive, he is a good thigh on the international arena. At Tokyo 2021, Mills served as the flag bearer for the Australian Olympic team. In August 2021, Mills led the Australian national team to face the young Doncic in the bronze medal game, and he cut 42 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists and 1 steal to lead the team to the first Olympic men's basketball medal in Australian history.
In August 2012, Mills represented Australia at the London Olympics. In the group stage, Australia beat Russia with Mills' final 4.1-second three-pointer. In Australia's 106-75 win over Great Britain, Mills scored 39 points to lead the team back from a 15-point trail. In Australia's game against the Dream Ten, Mills scored a team-high 26 points and six rebounds. Throughout the London Olympics, Mills became the London Olympic scoring champion with an average of 21.2 points per game and was selected as the second team of the London Olympic men's basketball team selected by ESPN.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Mills scored a game-high 24 points in the men's basketball quarterfinal, including 5-of-11 three-pointers, helping Australia defeat Lithuania 90-64 and advance to the semifinals.
On August 7, 2021, the bronze medal game of the men's basketball team at the Tokyo Olympics began, facing the young Doncic, Mills cut 42 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists and 1 steal to lead the team to win the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with a 107-93 victory, which was the first Olympic men's basketball medal in Australian history.
Playing for the Spurs, if you don't know an instrument, you're embarrassed to go out and say hello. In April 2015, the Spurs formed a rock band, with Mills as guitarist. ，
Winning the championship with the Spurs was the pinnacle of Mills' career. On June 16, 2014, Mills scored 17 points in the G5 Spurs home game against the Heat in the Finals, helping the Spurs win 104-87 to win the 2013–14 NBA championship.
Throughout the 2013-14 season, Mills averaged 18.9 minutes per game, scoring 10.2 points, 1.8 assists and 0.8 steals while shooting 46.4 percent from the field. At the same time, at 4.8 miles per hour, he became the fastest runner of the NBA season.
In July 2014, Mills brought the NBA championship trophy back to Australia to attend a recognition conference in his hometown of Canberra, during which he accepted a gift from the local government for his city key.
It should be said that Mills, who is about to turn 35, still has oil, and it is no problem for him to play as a sixth man to complete the scoring task. According to US media analysis, the reason why Mills has great transaction value is that his salary next season is only 6.8 million US dollars, plus it is an expired contract, and the operation is flexible.
The Hawks' purpose in launching this deal is first and foremost to reduce the team's salary, and it is unknown whether Mills can stay with the team. Mills is 1.83 meters tall and Trae Young is 1.85 meters tall, if the two play at the same time, this backcourt double will become the opponent's cash machine, which will cause great difficulty in the team's formation, so it is foreseeable that Mills will not stay in the Hawks.