Now that the Spurs roster is mercifully free of any of the other participants in their dynasty (Gregg Poppovich doesn’t count since he’s not on the roster, and Marco Belinelli doesn’t count because when people think “Spurs dynasty” no one thinks of him), Patty Mills is free to average a career-high in points per game. There’s an argument to be made that he could have been utilized more during some of his prime years while the Spurs did all their dynasty stuff, but that’s in the past now, and you can’t argue with the results.
He’d only averaged 10 points or more three seasons prior to this one, and all of them were barely over. He averaged 10.2 over 81 games for the championship-winning 13-14 squad. This year he’s at 11.7, way above his previous high, and that’s even with the “midrange chuck bros” (DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge) hogging the ball so that they can chuck shots from the midrange.
Mills’ prime is almost over. He’s 31, has been in the league for 11 seasons already, and getting to the point where he’s not going to be as productive going forward. If we want the TRUE Mills experience before he retires, trades need to happen. Aldridge. Gone. DeRozan. Gone. Gay. Gone. Lonnie Walker can stay if he promises to delay his development for another two or three years while Mills averages 25 a game and the Spurs win 25 games a year.