On Monday the Melbourne Tigers announced the signing of NBA backup guard Patty Mills. Formerly of St Mary's College and the Portland Trailblazers, Mills is the biggest name to hit the NBL since Andrew Gaze. Only problem is, he probably won’t even play for a whole season.
As with all NBA players playing abroad (except Wilson Chandler in China), Mills' new contract contains an NBA Out. Meaning, should the NBA lockout end, Mills' Tigers contract will be voided and he will be free to return to Portland.
On the upside, Mills is sure to increase the ticket sales and viewership across the whole country. After all Mills is the second best Australian player there is, if you don’t count Kyrie Irving.
On the upside, Mills is sure to increase the ticket sales and viewership across the whole country. After all Mills is the second best Australian player there is, if you don’t count Kyrie Irving.
Unfortunately, Tigers veteran Daryl Corletto was collateral damage in the Mills singing. The Tigers were forced to drop the 29 year old two-guard in order to fit Mills under the NBL Salary Cap and Player Points system. According to sources close to the situation, Corletto will remain available to the team in the case of an early end to the NBA lockout.
If the lockout extends late into the year however, there’s no saying if Corletto may fancy game time somewhere else.
The biggest problem for the Tigers though? Mills’ eventual departure.
As dire as the situation U.S in the NBA is, it’s still highly likely that a some kind of shortened NBA season will go ahead.
So when January comes around, and Patty gets on the first plane to Oregon, where is that going to leave this Melbourne squad? If Patty is used as the full time starting point guard then import point Ayinde Ubaka will be forced to contribute major minutes at the two spot, not his natural point guard role.
When Patty eventually leaves, will Ubaka be able to fill his role? And will Corletto be ready to comeback and fill Ubaka’s.
That is the key problem for the Tigers, and if they don’t figure a way around it, they could risk blowing a series championship contending season.
The Tigers are now a virtual Finals lock. Even if Patty only contributes for half the season, the Tigers should still get to around 11 wins of the 14 pre-Christmas games played. Then again, Mills or no Mills, this team is a real Finals threat.
As exciting as Mill’s signing is, the Tigers must make sure not to lean on his play too much. If they do, they’ll jeopardise their finals chances and could risk losing out on what could otherwise be, a championship season.
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