Olympic bond behind Perth's Mills pursuit

The Perth Wildcats are leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to land five-time Olympian Patty Mills.

“He’s still playing (in Spain), so there isn’t really a discussion. But when that time comes, obviously, we want to put ourselves in the best position to attract the best talent back to Perth,” Wildcats General Manager of Basketball Danny Mills said on The West Sports Show.

Mills had previously been linked to the Brisbane Bullets earlier in the off-season, with the Wildcats the latest team to get on the front foot in their pursue of the Australian icon.

“We’ve got to be looking at absolutely every opportunity to add to our roster,” Mills added.

“And if there are players in the likes of former NBA guys or Boomers that want to come back to Australia, then 100% we’ll get in those conversations. But as of right now, it’s very new for someone like Patty."

The Wildcats are rolling over the majority of their key pieces from last season in the likes of Jo Lual-Acuil Jr, Kristian Doolittle, Dylan Windler and recently re-signed Elijah Pepper.

The point guard position is their highest priority once again and the possibility of Mills slotting into that line-up is further strengthened by a special bond with head coach John Rillie.

“Him being familiar with JR from the Tokyo campaign - it is the best result the Boomers have ever had, winning that bronze medal. And him arguably having one of the best performances in Olympic history in that bronze medal game,” Mills added.

“Those guys share a bond that’ll forever be there. So that’s very important. It definitely can’t hurt. It can only help.”

With another five-time Olympian Joe Ingles in line to join Melbourne United in the coming weeks, Mills would be another big name returning to the rapidly growing league.

"Is it realistic? I don’t know. We’ve seen it before. Andrew Bogut went back to Sydney, Aron Baynes came back to Brisbane, so we have seen it. Everyone’s different. The hope is for Australian basketball that we would love to see those types of players back in the NBL.”

Read the full story here >> Will Aussie icon play for Wildcats? Mills provides answer