Damn.
Things were looking so good.
"You never want to see a player get injured, but it is especially heart-wrenching to see a young man go down on his first day of camp," Portland general manager Kevin Pritchard said.
"We'll do everything we can to help Patty get back on track to realise his NBA future."
After first hearing of his injury in the very first training session for his new team, nothing else was said.
He would miss the entire Summer League and his opportunity to prove all of the teams that passed on him wrong.
I have waited to comment on the tough situation for such a likable guy, until some more facts came through… and I knew they wouldn’t be pretty.
Since then, the silence has been DEAFENING. And now we know why.
It has been reported today…
Patty Mills to miss 4-6 months of action.
Damn.
Reported today in a number of places. This excerpt comes courtesy of SLAMONLINE.COM
The Aussie PG will have his work cut out for him this season if he’s to have any hopes of making an NBA roster:
“Pritchard said doctors inserted a screw to repair the foot and Mills is expected to miss four to six months. That eliminates any chance at a training camp invitation for Mills, but Pritchard refused to address his future with the team. The Blazers selected Mills with their last pick of last month’s draft, No.55 overall. ‘Feel really bad for the kid,’ Pritchard said. ‘He’s a great kid and a high-energy guy who came in looking to really make an impression on us. It was just an unfortunate accident.’”
How quickly things change.
Less than a year ago he was almost the biggest basketball story to come out of the Olympics, heaped with praise from Kobe Bryant and LeBron James to Coach K.
First he missed a chance put his team in the NCAA tournament barely recovering from a broken hand to play out his College career.
Then, last time I wrote it was about his obvious frustration and disappointment at being overlooked by so many teams in the NBA Draft.
That would seem like nothing now, compared with the uphill battle the young man has now to even make the League.
Coincidently his first Summer League game was to be played against the Toronto Raptors and his best friend Nathan Jawai (who was traded to the Dallas Mavericks that very day). He was all set, he was to wear number #8, but of course that never happened.
Back when I first heard about the injury I scribbled down some notes.
- Hopefully not stuck in Europe ala Brad Newley. Was Newley a higher pick even?
- The Curse of Sam Bowie… he’s no Greg Oden, but a blazer struck down with injury nonetheless.
I also pictured the current Poll on my Blog, which I had not updated and was asking ‘where would you like to see Mills play next season’.
The Melbourne Tigers was an option, a joke option, but even before his injury there were rumours that Mills wouldn’t make the Trailblazers roster and would end up over in Europe or playing back Down Under for someone.
Unfortunately, that even seems a long way off at this stage.
As a basketball fan, pinning the hopes of the sport in this nation on his shoulders it’s a big blow.
Perhaps we placed too much pressure on the guy too early. We didn’t cause his injury, but it definitely raised our expectations for him and the almost saviour like aura, that many (including myself) projected onto him.
I knew that the NBA draft is extremely unpredictable. Watching Aussie after Aussie attempt to break into the league, I knew things are never as smooth as you think.
Patty Mills was always going to be borderline first round, but Alpha Magazine obviously didn’t quite understand the situation and in an attempt to sell mags, was asking questions like the one below.
As I sat down to read my first ever purchased copy, I wondered if they understood how far ahead of themselves they were getting when they asked…
Have you considered what you will do with an NBA pay packet?
Patty’s response was a fair one, but I hasten to add that it was probably edited a bit too. I believe he would have been even more humble in his full response, but that isn’t very sexy.
He Said:
"That's a bit too far ahead for me to think. I have no idea what I'll do with it. I won't know until I actually have it in my hands."
We all hope you do someday Patty, we all hope you do!
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