Is the NBA era passing Patty Mills by?

Mills is averaging the lowest output since his NBA rookie season - what lies ahead?

The NBA career of Patty Mills appears to be coming full circle.

Mills entered the Association as a fringe player on a Portland Trail Blazers team that, at the time in 2009, was perennially around the playoff mix but never one to seriously contend for a championship. Mills distinguished himself over the past thirteen years, winning at the highest level and putting down the greatest NBA career seen by an Australian male athlete. But as 2023 approaches, Mills is once again playing for a franchise which appears destined for a middling playoff seed. His personal NBA opportunities are starting to dry up.

At the time of writing, Mills has been a DNP-Coach’s Decision (DNP-CD) in five straight games for the Brooklyn Nets. He has played 10 minutes in just one game since 14 November. There are a slew of advanced metrics, refer to Cleaning The Glass, that evidence Brooklyn being a better side with their veteran Australian on the bench this season. The sample size is small, and the lion’s share of Mills’ minutes came during the height of Kyrie Irving’s melodramatic episode, but there is clear evidence developing that Brooklyn doesn’t need the offensive skillset that has allowed Mills to prosper in the NBA.

Seth Curry is a younger and more renowned version of Mills at this point in his career. Yuta Watanabe and Joe Harris offer Brooklyn floor spacing from the wings. They provide enough shooting —and also defensive limitations, it must be said— in the Brooklyn rotation that new head coach Jacque Vaughn has been utilising over the past month. With the Nets defence elevating to league average levels —an unremarkable but vital improvement given their start to the season— Mills has been put on the bench. Injuries notwithstanding, his placing in the pecking order has become clear. What could be next for Mills?