The Nets agreed to trade Patty Mills to the Rockets on Saturday in what amounted to a salary dump, a move first reported by The Athletic and later confirmed by The Post.
The Athletic subsequently reported that the Rockets will be rerouting Mills to Memphis as part of a sign-and-trade in which Houston will acquire Dillon Brooks.
The only player on the Nets with an NBA championship ring, Mills provided a steadying veteran influence, especially for fellow Australian and close friend Ben Simmons.
But the Nets are clearly in the midst of reshaping the roster around the edges, and Mills became surplus to their requirements.
Mills logged a team-high 81 appearances in 2021-22, averaging 11.4 points and drilling a career-high 227 3-pointers, second-most in Nets single-season history.
But this past season, his productivity dipped to a modest 6.2 points in 40 games, with only two starts.
At 34, Mills was by far the oldest remaining Net.
His backup point guard void will be partially filled by free-agent signee Dennis Smith Jr., who is not as good a shooter, but is cheaper ($2 million), younger (25) and a far superior defensive player.
Moving Mills’ $6.8 million expiring contract will get the Nets roughly $15 million under the salary cap.
This offseason is the first time they have been under the cap since 2019, just before they acquired Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
They’ll also presumably create a commensurate $6.8 million traded player exception, to go with the $19.9 million, $18.1 million and $4.5 million stockpile of TPEs they already have.
