Nets' Patty Mills to decline player option, becomes free agent

Brooklyn Nets guard Patty Mills has declined his $6.2M player option for next season in order to become a free agent, league sources tell Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

Mills, 33, had a solid season in his first season with Brooklyn in 2021-22, averaging 11.4 PPG, 1.9 RPG and 2.3 APG on .408/.400/.814 shooting in 81 regular season games (48 starts, 29 MPG). He averaged career highs in three-point makes and attempts, with 2.8 and 7.0, respectively.

Last season was the 13th of Mills’ lengthy NBA career, spending his first couple of seasons with Portland before a 10-year run with the San Antonio Spurs that included an NBA title in 2014. The veteran guard also led the Australian national team to a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.

Mills has a career three-point percentage of 38.9% and figures to draw plenty of interest from contending teams. He should receive a contract similar in annual value to the one he declined (taxpayer mid-level exception), but he’ll likely be looking for a multiyear deal to maximize his earnings.