Patrick Mills

Contract Details: Duncan, Green, De Colo, Diaw

With the early-July flurry of activity having died down, we have the opportunity now to look back at many of the free agent deals signed earlier this month and see how exactly they'll affect teams' caps for the next few seasons. Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News has the salary details for the handful of contracts signed by the Spurs this month, so let's take a look at what San Antonio will be paying its recent signees….

  • Tim Duncan will be paid about $9.64MM this season and $10.36MM in year two, with a $10MM player option for 2014/15. As Mark Deeks of ShamSports points out, the salary decrease for the player option seems to violate CBA rules, so depending on how the league views the deal, Duncan could be in line for a pay bump in year three.
  • Danny Green's deal starts at $3.5MM in year one, with 7.5% annual raises for the next two seasons, for a total of $11,287,500. As we heard from Deeks previously, this contract is fully guaranteed, with no options.
  • The Spurs signed 2009 draft pick Nando De Colo to a two-year contract worth about $1.4MM in year one and $1.46MM in year two. Since this is larger than a minimum salary, San Antonio presumably used its bi-annual exception to complete the deal.
  • Boris Diaw will earn $4.5MM in 2012/13 and $4.69MM in 2013/14, bringing the two-year total of his contract to about $9.19MM.
  • The salary details for Patty Mills, who will earn $1,085,120 this season, were already known, but according to Monroe, Mills' second year (at about $1.13MM) is a team option. Deeks had reported that it was a player option, so hopefully we'll get some clarification on the matter one way or the other.
  • According to Monroe, the Spurs' total commitments for 2012/13 amount to about $69.13MM, just below the luxury tax threshold.

Free Agent Rumors: Timberwolves, Rush, Mills

A couple more notable names came off the free agent market this morning, when Kris Humphries landed a two-year deal from the Nets and Grant Hill agreed to sign with the Clippers. While a number of solid rotation players are still available, the market is rapidly thinning for teams in search of starters. As clubs continue to jockey to sign the remaining available players, we'll track many of today's free agent rumors right here:

Earlier updates:

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Spurs Re-Sign Patty Mills

The Spurs have officially re-signed free agent point guard Patty Mills, according to a team press release. Johnny Ludden of Yahoo! Sports first reported that the Spurs had agreed to a new deal with Mills.

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Spurs Extend Qualifying Offers To Green, Mills

Spurs general manager R.C. Buford confirmed today that San Antonio has officially extended qualifying offers to Danny Green and Patty Mills, tweets Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. The one-year offers make Green and Mills restricted free agents and ensure that the Spurs will have the opportunity to match offers for both players.

Having met the starter criteria as defined by the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement, Green is eligible for a qualifying offer of close to $2.7MM. Mills, who turned down his player option with the team this week, will receive a more modest offer of about $1.09MM.

Patty Mills Declines Player Option

The deadline for Patty Mills to opt into his player option for 2012/13 has passed, and he will become a free agent, reports Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. The decision comes as no surprise and doesn't necessarily mean Mills won't return to San Antonio. The option was for the minimum salary (about $885K), which the point guard should be able to surpass on the open market.

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Odds & Ends: Mills, Magic, Garnett, Shumpert

When Patrick Mills returned from China this season, he signed a two-year deal with the Spurs that included a player option for the second year. Mills will have to make a decision soon, and tells Chris Dutton of The Age that he wants to finalize his NBA future before heading to the Olympics.

"I feel like I need to do my due diligence and really go and see what there is, to make sure I explore every option," Mills said. ''But in saying that, I really enjoy being in San Antonio and being part of that program."

Mills' decision could have an effect on whether or not the Spurs need to pursue a point guard in free agency, as I discussed in my preview of the team's offseason earlier this afternoon. Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

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Southwest Links: Boykins, Thomas, Hornets, Mavs

With the Mavericks in action in Orlando and the Rockets hosting the Grizzlies, here is a look at some links from the Southwest division:

  • Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News provides some interesting Spurs tidbits centering on how the international play of Patrick Mills and Boris Diaw helped to lead the two recent additions to San Antonio.
  • NBA sources have told Fox 26 in Houston that the Rockets are likely to retain guard Earl Boykins and forward Malcolm Thomas after their 10-day contracts expire, tweets Mark Berman.  Boykins signed his contract on March 26 and Thomas signed his on March 27.
  • Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated thoroughly examines the state of the Hornets franchise, which is expected to be sold by the NBA in the coming weeks in a deal that will keep the team in New Orleans until at least 2024.  Thomsen says the Hornets are headed towards profitability and he also delves into the vetoed Chris Paul trade. 
  • Jason Terry's comments aside, there was some other news after the Mavericks Thursday night loss in Miami.  ESPN Dallas' Tim MacMahon writes that Lamar Odom has shown signs of effectiveness lately for Dallas.  With Delonte West back in the lineup, the duo could provide a much needed boost down the stretch. 

Odds & Ends: Garnett, Spurs, Randolph, Howard

The top of this year's draft figures to be particularly UNC-heavy, with three Tar Heel underclassmen declaring their intentions to enter the draft earlier today. Harrison Barnes, John Henson, and Kendall Marshall will join senior Tyler Zeller as potential North Carolina lottery picks. And as ESPN.com's Chad Ford writes, the Tar Heels could make it five first-rounders if James McAdoo decides to enter the draft as well (Insider link).

Here are a few more afternoon links from around the Association:

Spurs Sign Patrick Mills

The Spurs have officially signed former Blazer Patrick Mills, the team announced today. The two sides had reached an agreement earlier, but visa issues held up Mills' arrival. The deal will reportedly include a player option in the second year, worth about $1MM.

According to a tweet from Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, the Pistons also wanted to sign Mills. The Rockets were interested in the guard as well, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reported. San Antonio had been searching for a point guard after the abrupt retirement of T.J. Ford, who was subsequently shipped to Golden State for financial reasons in the Stephen JacksonRichard Jefferson deal.

Mills, a 2009 second-round pick out of St. Mary's College, averaged 5.1 points and 1.5 assists in two seasons as a backup in Portland. He signed with a Chinese team earlier this season, but received FIBA clearance to join an NBA team. The Blazers held Mills' rights as a restricted free agent, but renounced them, allowing him to sign with any team.

The agreement was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, Sam Amick of SI.com, and Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News added details.

Chuck Myron and Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Southwest Notes: Arenas, Camby, Smith, Mills

Here's the latest out of the Southwest, the only division in the NBA that would send four teams to the playoffs if the season ended today: