Former Hawks Guard Patty Mills Signing With Eastern Conference Contender

Mills was recently waived by the Hawks

After being waived by the Atlanta Hawks last week, Patty Mills is going to be signing with the Miami Heat according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. 

Free agent Patty Mills is planning to sign with the Miami Heat, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 5, 2024

Mills was waived to make room to convert Trent Forrest to a standard contract. Yesterday, the Hawks filled their two-way contract opening by signing Dylan Windler. Mills will be eligible for the Heat's postseason roster. 

Atlanta is in New York for a matchup with the New York Knicks tonight. 

Atlanta's offense without Trae Young has not been the same. Their three-point shooting has dipped because they are not getting as many open looks without his playmaking and as good as Dejounte Murray is, he is not the same level of offensive creator that Young is. Still, Murray is going to have to guide this offense in his continued absence and he has individually been playing well in this four-game stretch.

The two guys that need to step up more are Bogdan Bogdanovic and Jalen Johnson. In Saturday's game vs Brooklyn, Bogdanovic was 4-13 from the field and scored only 13 points while Johnson had arguably his worst game of the season, scoring seven points on 3-12 shooting and 0-4 from three. These are two of the Hawks most critical players with Young out and Atlanta needs them to be able to find a way to make an impact on the offensive end.

Hawks guard Patty Mills vs the Warriors / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

De'Andre Hunter continues to score well coming off the bench, hitting four of his six three-point attempts against the Nets, and ever since he made the move to come off the bench following his injury, Hunter has seemed comfortable in doing so. Kobe Bufkin, Garrison Matthews, and Bruno Fernando will likely be the rest of the rotation (if Bufkin is able to play) and those three must find a way to make more of an impact collectively.

Coming into this game, Atlanta ranks 5th in PPG, 22nd in field goal percentage, 7th in three-point attempts, 22nd in three-point percentage, 1st in offensive rebounding, and 12th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks are 10th in points allowed per 100 possessions, 20th in effective field goal percentage, 8th in turnover percentage, 5th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 8th in free throw rate.

Hawks vs Knicks: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups