July isn’t only about re-signing Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks will look to use their mini mid-level exception to obtain a free-agent starting point guard and one may have emerged out of the Finals massacre of Miami in Spurs backup Patty Mills. According to a source, Mills, unique because of his indigenous Australian heritage, would be intrigued by the idea of playing in New York and increasing his role from Tony Parker’s backup to a more marquee role. “New York is definitely a city Mills would want to play in,’’ the source said. “He has that personality.’’ Mills, 25, has always been on the Knicks radar for this summer but he could have zoomed to the top after his playoff performance. The speedy 6-foot point guard with a sweet 3-point shot delivered the knockout blow to the Heat in Sunday’s Game 5 clincher. Mills scored 14 third-quarter points, hitting four straight 3-pointers. He finished the playoffs shooting a sensational 40.5 percent from 3-point range after barely seeing action in last season’s Finals vs. Miami. In the triangle offense, as Derek Fisher showed, a point guard with a deft 3-point shot is as important as penetration. The question is how high Mills’ market value has climbed and whether the Spurs are ready to pay a significant amount for a backup point guard. That’s usually not their style, with small-market owner Peter Holt one of the leaders of the 2011 lockout. Mills opted into his contract last offseason and was paid just $1.3 million. Now he becomes an unrestricted free agent. The Knicks are looking to appropriate their $3.2 million mini mid-level on a starting point guard to supplant the ineffective Raymond Felton. - See more at: http://nypost.com/2014/06/16/spurs-pg-mills-on-knicks-radar/
