Patty Mills' move to title-hunters Miami has smoothed his path to Paris, the four-time Olympic great poised for an immediate Heat impact after enduring the quietest of his 15 NBA seasons.
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Multiple reports on Wednesday (AEDT) claimed the 35-year-old Boomers mainstay was on the move to Florida, as a replacement for injured guard Dru Smith, after being released by the Atlanta Hawks five days earlier.
There he will play under coach Erik Spoelstra and alongside star forward Jimmy Butler, who led the Heat into the finals last season, where they lost to the Denver Nuggets.
Mills struggled to see court time at the Hawks behind back-court pair Dejounte Murray and Trae Young, averaging 2.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 10.6 minutes in 19 games off the bench this season.
It's his lowest output since his rookie year with Portland in 2009-10 and comes after a whirlwind off-season that saw him traded from Brooklyn to Houston, then Oklahoma City, before finally landing at the Hawks.
Mills has managed to shoot 37.3 per cent from the floor and 38.2 per cent from three-point range when given his chance.
Those are important figures for the Tokyo bronze-medal hero, considering his role in Paris as part of a new-look Australian core led by Josh Giddey could be more as a spot-up shooter than ball-handler.
It's a decade since Mills won the 2013-14 NBA championship with the Spurs, the Tokyo flag-bearer boasting 879 career games with Portland, San Antonio, Brooklyn and the Hawks.
But signing with the Florida franchise will represent another opportunity for the veteran to play his part in a post-season push with the Heat, who are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference.
Mills will battle with Terry Rozier and Delon Wright for immediate minutes, given both of the Heat's starting guards - Tyler Herro and Josh Richardson - are currently injured.
After disposing of the struggling Pistons 118-110 on Tuesday, last year's finalists have a 9-2 record in their past 11 games and only one win back from the fourth-ranked New York Knicks.
Meanwhile, in Cleveland Dean Wade scored 20 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and the hosts won a replay review in the final second to stun Boston 105-104, ending the NBA-leading Celtics' winning streak at 11 games.
In Dallas Myles Turner scored 20 points, Tyrese Haliburton had 19 points and 11 assists, and Indiana beat the Mavericks 137-120 despite Luka Doncic's fourth consecutive game with a 30-point triple-double.
Doncic had 39 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
Russell Westbrook is the lone player in NBA history with five straight 30-point triple-doubles, and Oscar Robertson is the only other player with four.
In other games Brooklyn beat Philadelphia, New Orleans thumped the Raptors, Houston outdid the Spurs, Orlando continued their surging run with defeat of Charlotte and Atlanta pipped the Knicks.
Australian Associated Press
