Patty Mills missed the first half of the 2014-15 NBA season after injuring his shoulder and requiring surgery. He did come back and play, but there is still concern over whether he is fully healthy. Mills has been one of the Australian national team's best players over the years, and as it prepares for the FIBA Oceania Championships he has been omitted from the roster, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Mills had previously made himself unavailable for two exhibition games leading up to the tournament, and because of that the surprise decision he was left off the final roster for the tournament. The San Antonio Spurs were reportedly involved in the decision-making process with Mills, as they preferred that he rest and rehab his shoulder instead of competing with the national team in the exhibition games. Now he won't play in the tournament either.
After coming back from his injury last season Mills struggled with his shot, as he made only 38 percent of his field goal attempts and 34 percent of his three-point attempts. Those numbers were down from his career percentages of 44 and 39 from the field and three-point range, respectively. Mills did finally regain his form in the playoffs, though, as he made 57 percent of his three-point attempts in the Spurs' grueling first round series loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Spurs preference for Mills to rest the shoulder is hard to argue with, especially when you consider how important he will be to the team this year. Mills will be Tony Parker's primary backup point guard after Cory Joseph signed with the Toronto Raptors this offseason, and with Parker's injuries lately Mills could play a pivotal role. The Spurs also reportedly traded for Ray McCallum earlier this offseason, but he is more of a long-term prospect/depth signing should they suffer an injury.
Australia has won 18 of the past 20 Oceania Championships, but it may miss Mills in the upcoming tournament. Mills was key for the team in the past two Olympics in Beijing and London, leading all players in scoring at the London games with 21.2 points per game. Australia will still likely be the favorite to win, but it never helps to lose your best player.
