Would You Sign Patty Mills?

Would you sign Patty Mills to the 15th spot even though he:

a) May not fully recover from his injury?

b) May not even be good enough to play in the NBA?

BLAZER PROPHET and I were debating this over lunch and he claims that, based upon Mills "domination" one year against Aaron Brooks and the next year against another UO PG, there's no reason not to offer Mills a minimum contract.................if for no other reason than to provide PG backup insurance should the Blazers not be able to sign Blake next season.

Me? I'm not so sure. Is Mills "really" all that good to commit to at this point??

 

For some reason, I think we need to sign this guy. I think he has Tony Parker written all over him. I want him.

 

I would have to see him in action.

Thanks for the all the new topics btw.

 

BP claims we'd lose them after this season as he's a 2nd Rounder. Is that true?

 

But isn't he still hurt? Even if you wanted to really look at him to see if he is worthy of the spot. He isn't healthy enough to perform on the court is he?

 

It's tricky, and I'm not positive if it's different for second rounders or not, but my understanding is that, the Blazers retain his rights until the next draft. If Mills signs a contract to play pro-ball outside the NBA, the Blazers rights would be extended for another year. This continues until either the Blazers renounce his rights, trade his rights, or he does not play pro ball for a full year.

So the question is, will Mills sit out an entire year? If so he would become an unrestricted free agent. If not, the Blazers have nothing to worry about.

I could be wrong, but that's my best understanding.

Personally, I'm not real interested in signing an undersized point guard drafted in the second round, who just had a very serious injury that may never be recovered from. I say wait and see how he recovers.

 

If he can demonstrate that he is healing well and injuries will not be a major concern, then sign him with the knowledge that he is on a very small contract that won't hurt to cut.

However, if preseason shines the spot on a more worthy candidate, then offer them the spot and take a pass on Patty.

 

To me (BTW, thanks for the post ABM) I see no good reason not to sign him for a couple of years at the minimum. He may sit this year and learn, but next year he can start to play a bit and I think he could be a decent back up PG for us long term. I only saw him play two full games, but each time he was the best player on the floor.

 

No.

 

Is that what Tony Parker has emblazoned on the bottom of his shoes?

On a further note, how many busted up, convalescing second round draft picks does this team need?

 

I was going to say the same thing.

 

If he is healthy enough to play, he will sign in Europe, and we retain his rights.

If he isn't healthy enough to play, do we want to risk it? We can still track his rehab, and sign him before the 2010 draft.

 

Why sign him now? If he's healthy enough to play at some point during the season, and one of our other PGs gets injured, sign him then. Otherwise, I'd rather keep that 15th roster spot open to have the flexibility pick up a player that fills a need on a 10 day contract or someone who gets waived, make a trade, etc.

Mills can't contribute anything now. So, I see no point in signing him now. Makes no sense. Needlessly ties up a roster spot.

BNM

 

BP claims there would be a shot of losing him later if the Blazers don't tie up the contract now. Me, I'm not so sure.

 

I don't understand how long we retain the rights to a second round pick. If it's more than 1 year, then I'd agree there's no hurry.

 

Only if we haven't signed him by draft day 2010 and he hasn't played professionally anywhere else between now and then.

The risk is small, and it's a risk I'm willing to take.

BNM

 

There is no reason to sign Mills right now. If the Blazers do like him, they should hide him on a Euro team if at all possible.