Why Patty Mills? A three-pronged answer for the Jazz’s most recent deal

Why would the Utah Jazz sign Patty Mills?

That’s a question I’ve been asked and seen many others ask on social media in the days since the news broke that the 36-year-old agreed to a one-year deal with the Jazz.

The answer? Well, there are three main reasons:

An adult in the room

At the NBA combine, Jazz head coach Will Hardy told me that no matter what happened with the upcoming draft and the Jazz’s selections (at the time about a month away), the Jazz were going to need an adult in the room as far as the roster was concerned.

“Kids don’t teach kids,” Hardy said.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t respect for the veteran players still on the Jazz, or that there is a concern about maturity on the roster. Instead, it’s about keeping a balance.

Hardy pointed to the importance of the first few months of the 2022-23 season with Mike Conley on the Jazz roster and how he helped so many of the young players that season. Then there was Kris Dunn last season doing the same thing, but with a different temperament and approach.

Leadership on a roster is necessary in a number of ways. Lauri Markkanen (27) is learning how to be the physical leader on a team, Jordan Clarkson (32) is learning how to transition into a position of leadership after many years as a role player, John Collins (26) is learning how to navigate the business of the NBA and how to help the younger players while keeping his physical edge.

Those leadership positions are still being learned by those who are in them. It’s important to have a player on an NBA roster who isn’t learning a new role, a player who has seen everything there is to see in the NBA and is able to impart wisdom, knowledge and care to the younger players coming up.

It helps if that player is, and has been, skilled enough during their career to garner respect, and it certainly doesn’t hurt if they have been a part of championship-winning teams.

Importantly, in the case of the Jazz, the player has to be comfortable with not playing all the time and has to understand that the team is not looking to win games as much as it is looking to develop young players.

Enter Patrick Sammie Mills, whose leadership on and off the court through his 15-year NBA career has been exemplary. Although he only played in 32 games last season and 40 games in the previous season (racking up a number of DNPs), he’s still had a significant impact on the teams he has been on, especially with the younger players.

Developing guards

One of the biggest priorities for the Jazz front office and Hardy in the upcoming season is going to be identifying which guards on the roster could be a part of the team’s extended future.

Not only can Mills provide invaluable on-court direction, advice and serve as an example for the Jazz’s many developing guards, but he can also be someone whom Hardy and the front office can rely on for input on the development and potential of the young guards.

A veteran leader on a team doesn’t necessarily have to be a point guard, but on a team with so many young players at every position, having someone on the roster who understands the needs and responsibilities of a floor general will not only help the guards develop, but will also help the other players as well.

Familiarity

There’s no doubt that Hardy’s familiarity with Mills, having worked alongside him in San Antonio for years, factors into the decision to add him to the roster. That familiarity is going to help with the above two points immensely.

Mills isn’t going to have to feel out Hardy, build a relationship and find common ground. They already have that. They’re starting from a place of comfort and history, which is going to make the transition a lot easier and make Mills feel like he has some freedom to put the majority of his time into building relationships with the players on the roster.

That familiarity between Hardy and Mills is also going to mean communication will be easy, so if there are situations in which Mills isn’t going to play or if Hardy needs Mills to fill in during injuries or just be more of a locker room support system for the players, the coach won’t have to beat around the bush.