History Repeating Itself with Patty Mills

This entry comes more from my heart than my head.

Patty Mills could be a mostly inconsequential piece of Portland’s future, as the team's success probably doesn’t hinge on whether Mills is developed and integrated into an important role. Regardless, I want to talk about him anyways, because it’s sad to see history repeat itself when the outcome is wasted talent.

If delving into the Gamma Quadrant of the Blazers’ Universe isn’t your thing, keep it moving. Relevance bias is not welcome here.

It’s still too early to tell for sure if Portland is marching Patty Mills towards basketball obscurity. They signed him as an injured second round pick that had yet to play an NBA game, a huge vote of confidence. Still, after hearing that Mills was being sent back to the D-League I couldn’t help but connect him to a former Blazer that I’ve never been able to entirely let go of—Taurean Green.

These are two totally different types of players that manage to share many qualities. They are both point-guards, were both knocked in the draft for their size, and they both had panache creating pre-NBA accomplishments, with Green winning two national championships at the University of Florida and Mills dissection of Team USA in the Olympics. And of course, both were drafted in the second round by your Portland Trailblazers.

The similarities don’t end there. Portland sent Green to the D-League too. He played four games with the Idaho Stampede and averaged 19.3 points, 9.8 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and two steals . So far Mills has dominated the D-League much like Green did, to the point where many are thinking that he is clearly cut out for more. We thought the same with Green. Taurean wasn’t the mythical point guard of the future either, but maybe he was the backup of the future. Remember this little quote?

"I think Taurean Green is going to win us three or four games for us this year," McMillan said. "I do."

How did it all turn out for Green? Most of you probably don’t recall, which is a better answer than I can provide. Five months after that endorsement from Nate McMillan, Green was traded to Denver for Von Wafer. After the season the Nuggets traded him to the Knicks, who waived him.

Green’s next stop was Spain’s ACB League. He then popped up on Chicago’s summer league team in 2009, where he did nothing to distinguish himself in limited minutes.

Player development guru David Thorpe tweeted this :

“Taurean Green is an NBA player, in my mind. But I'm not sure he thinks so. He's lost some swagger.”

A loss of confidence can reduce any player to dust. For one fighting the “too small” knock that is already on the outside looking in, well, the NBA just isn’t going to happen. The last I heard of Green he was in Greece playing for a team that could fold at any moment.

But all this doesn’t mean that there is no escape for Mills. His destiny doesn’t necessary include diminished confidence and shaky-Euro clubs. He does have some things going for him that Green never did. He has notable speed and offensive skills that are especially valuable in today’s NBA. He also gets to be the man on his national team, and killing on a national team, especially against Team USA, is enough to get you additional NBA chances. (Shout out to my man Pepe Sanchez.)

Still, I can’t shake the similarities. Will Portland make room for Mills and give him a chance to grow? Or will they simply trade him away to satisfy some minor short-term need? So far the sad pattern is repeating itself. But the thing about the Gamma Quadrant is that there’s always a wormhole waiting to take you back to where you want to be. You just have to find it.