‘A goal of mine’: Patty Mills seeks to turn Ben Simmons into green and gold

The Australian pair will team up again in the NBA after the former No 1 draft pick joined the Boomers captain at the Los Angeles Clippers. Patty Mills believes the twist of fate that led Ben Simmons to join him at the Los Angeles Clippers could be the catalyst for what Australian basketball fans thought was impossible; Simmons might finally join the Boomers and pursue a medal at the 2028 LA Olympics.

“It’s always been a goal of mine to have Ben in the green and gold for the Olympics and major tournaments,” Mills tells Guardian Australia. “I think this can be a great and refreshing start for Ben and I’ll help him in any way I can.”. The Clippers officially announced Simmons had signed with the team after he agreed to a contract buyout with the Brooklyn Nets. His arrival in the City of Angels came a week after fellow Australian Mills was shipped to the Clippers from the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz and Nets are among the worst teams in the NBA, but Mills and Simmons now find themselves on a playoff contender led by veteran superstars Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind the past few days going from Utah to Los Angeles, but settling in here is very nice,” Mills says. “I feel like I’m at my best whenever I’m at sea level and close to the ocean.”. Simmons, 28, has become one of the NBA’s most maligned players. His arrival in LA follows a bizarre fall from grace at the Philadelphia 76ers where he was selected with the No 1 draft pick in 2016, named NBA Rookie of the Year, and in 2019 signed a $US177m five-year rookie extension contract.

After cashing in, Melbourne-born Simmons developed a chronic case of the shooting “yips”. He became such a liability because of his reluctance to shoot that Simmons was traded to the Nets where he had a dismal injury-plagued three seasons. Mills, a 16-year NBA veteran who has no problem shooting the ball, says 208cm tall point forward Simmons has the perfect skillset to complement the offensive power that Leonard, Harden and shooting guard Norman Powell provide the Clippers.

“Ben doesn’t need to shoot like me because he has skills that a lot of players don’t have in the NBA,” Mills says. “Ben’s presence is so big, long and athletic he can guard anyone on the floor and he can make passes that no one else can make.”. Simmons has avoided playing for the Boomers throughout his NBA career, sometimes citing injury or other reasons, though Mills has experience playing alongside him in 2022-23 when they both landed on the Nets. Mills has also played with Leonard, Harden and other veterans including Nicolas Batum, so he believes the Clippers are the perfect landing spot for Simmons.

“I got to know Ben on a deeper level in Brooklyn and after being here at the Clippers for a little bit now and experiencing the environment they have, I think he can benefit a lot from what is here and how hard people work,” Mills says. The Clippers’ environment is an impressive one these days, thanks to the team’s owner and former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, who was named by Forbes as the eighth-richest person in the world with personal wealth estimated at $US145bn.

When the Guardian caught up with Mills he was resting in the expansive and extravagantly decorated Clippers locker room in Ballmer’s new $US2bn Intuit Dome arena, located near Los Angeles International Airport. The locker room looks more like the foyer of a Ritz-Carlton hotel or the Belagio in Las Vegas. Sign up to The Recap. The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s action.

after newsletter promotion. Mills is 36 and despite becoming an NBA journeyman – the Clippers are his seventh team and fifth in four years – he has no plans to retire. “Definitely not,” Mills says when asked if he might retire at the end of the season. “I always said I’ll keep playing until the wheels come off and I’ll continue to look after my body really well. I’m just enjoying the journey as it goes. There’s tougher things in life than moving around the NBA.”.

Perhaps one of the secrets to Mills’ longevity are the two small bottles – one with orange liquid and the other clear – tucked away on a shelf in his locker. “It’s my secret juice, mate,” Mills says with a smile. The orange bottle contained ginger and turmeric juice, and the clear bottle had a “collagen booster.”. Mills’ other secret should be no surprise to coffee-loving Australians. Mills takes a coffee machine with him on the road so he can get a shot of caffeine for games no matter what NBA city he is playing in.

“I have the juice first, and then the coffee. Just before a game I make a double espresso and then at half-time a triple flat white,” Mills says. The naysayers may doubt Simmons and Mills will make it to the 2028 Olympics, but the past week seems like it is their destiny. The Intuit Dome will be the basketball venue for the Olympics so Mills and Simmons, in a sense, have already made it. They just need to stick around for another three years.