New York Knicks: Pros and Cons of targeting Patty Mills in free agency

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Nov 12, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills (8) warms up prior to the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports /

Con: Limited Exposure

As previously noted, Patty Mills may be available for a more affordable cost than his alternatives. The reason for that being true is that, while the likes of George Hill and Jeff Teague have been full-time starters on postseason teams, Mills has spent his full career in a backup role.

While that may help the New York Knicks from a financial perspective, it could also hurt them when evaluating how well he’d fit.

Mills has never averaged more than 21.9 minutes per game in any of his eight seasons. He averaged 20.5 minutes per game during the 2015-16 season, and made the jump to 21.9 in 2016-17, but neither mark is that of a full-time starter.

For that matter, Mills has started a grand total of 18 regular season games during his eight-year career, including the eight he started in 2016-17.

Knowing this to be true, New York may be inclined to avoid signing Mills to fill the role of a full-time starter. In turn, it would likely offer Mills a contract that’s comparable to the deal Courtney Lee received: four years, $48 million.

The Knicks could get away with paying Mills slightly more than $12 million per season, but it would be difficult to justify much higher of an asking price.