Patty and Spurs agree to 3 year deal

[SpursFan86]

Wow, the Spurs low balled him big time. So much for the Spurs 'taking care of their own'. How much did Shawn Livingston sign for again?

IIRC they signed him with the full MLE...so ~$16 million over 3 years.

[Harry Callahan]

Wow, the Spurs low balled him big time. So much for the Spurs 'taking care of their own'. How much did Shawn Livingston sign for again?

I don't see how you can "low ball big time" a guy when you triple his salary - especially on a bench player. Patty Mills is a very high quality backup player who happens to fill a very specific (and important) role in SA.

Just because another team pays/overpays another player with a completely different body type/skill set doesn't another player is getting ripped off. If the Spurs followed the franchise model of the Rockets with neither financial nor roster discipline, they would have signed Patty Mills for $5MM per year and Boris Diaw for $11MM per year. Then in the end, they would have one or two fewer players on the roster available who could contribute during the RS and more importantly the playoffs.

Patty Mills just achieved financial security for himself, if he's smart with his money, for the rest of his life. Less than three years ago, he was bouncing around China trying to get a green card. Legal immigration rocks. The U.S. should try it more often. Just let the people in that can actually contribute something useful and meaningful.

[Anonymous Cowherd]

If you're out for half a season, that changes things. Think of it as a contract for the 2.5 years he can play for, and it scales up to $12m base, $15.6m with incentives. Which seems very fair.

[Drom John]

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story...rohbestworstFA

Best, worst FA deals so far
The offseason's biggest steals and overpays according to WAR
Updated: July 17, 2014, 1:47 PM ET
By Tom Haberstroh | ESPN Insider

Best deals

Patty Mills, San Antonio Spurs | Age: 25

Contract: Three years, $12M | AAV: $4 million

2013-14 value: 5.8 WAR | Expected AAV: $9.8M

Annual surplus value: +$5.8M

The Spurs just keep on Spursing. Mills was the NBA's best backup point guard last season. Playing behind future Hall of Famer Tony Parker, Mills led all Spurs in 3-pointers and averaged 19.5 points per 36 minutes. At just 24 years old, he was a key cog in his team's NBA Finals win.

Teams would normally fight for this sort of young talent. But the Spurs nabbed him for $4 million a year, a rate cheaper than 34-year-old Caron Butler and 32-year-old Chris Kaman received from the Detroit Pistons and Portland Trail Blazers, respectively.

Granted, Mills underwent shoulder surgery, which should knock him out for the first few months of the season. But the Spurs shrewdly took the long view here, locking in a young player to a multiyear contract. Mills is one of the best 3-point shooters in the league. He's entering his prime, and the Spurs got him for 50 percent off Avery Bradley. That's highway robbery.