The latest on Patty Mills' potential NBL return

NBL clubs are circling Australian Boomers star Patty Mills, with growing belief a return to the League is firmly on the table, according to ESPN’s Olgun Uluc.

Excitement is building around a potential return to the NBL for the 1,020-game NBA veteran, with Andrew Gaze last week reporting the Brisbane Bullets were a key suitor for his signature.

Now, Uluc says other teams are emerging in the race, should the 37-year-old opt to come back to Australia.

“It has not always been the case that these former NBA guys want to return, but from what we understand, Patty Mills is open to it,” Uluc said on The Marketplace, presented by Paywise.

“Other teams now, their ears have perked up a little bit and now they're thinking, ‘okay, this is someone that we can chase now. This is a realistic pursuit if we go and ask the question of Patty Mills again’.

“I remember a team last year, they told me ''we reached out to Patty Mills' camp and we got a no within like two minutes’. That's not the case anymore.”

Uluc said while he couldn’t verify Gaze’s comments around the Bullets being Mills’ likely destination, momentum is building around a potential NBL return.

“I reported early on that the Brisbane Bullets were a team that made an offer early in the piece and that it was declined, and that the two parties are no longer speaking,” he said.

“I haven't heard the Brisbane Bullets, but it does feel like Patty Mills is more open to returning to the NBL than we've ever seen.”

Uluc added that the Perth Wildcats are likely to make their move.

“That was the team that I initially flagged as one that I know that it has been discussed internally in Perth, and I know it's something that they're preparing to go and ask the question of Patty Mills,” he continued.

“It feels like it's something that the Perth Wildcats are preparing to do right now.”

Mills would join a growing list of Australian stars who’ve returned home after successful careers overseas, with the likes of Andrew Bogut and Matthew Dellavedova making a major impact in recent years. Joe Ingles has also been reported as considering finishing his career in Australia.

“I remember the Sydney Kings had a stretch of down years and then they got Andrew Bogut. And all of a sudden everything around the joint just felt a little bit more professional,” Uluc added.

“We have this guy who we know that the expectations are going to be high, because of him. The standards are high because of him.

“It feels similar to that, that if someone's able to bring someone like Patty Mills in, especially a team that has had a few seasons of down years, and the Brisbane Bullets have had many seasons of down years, if they're able to do something like that, it almost changes overnight the entire feel in the organisation.”

Co-host Jack Heverin said the Bullets would see huge benefit if they could land Mills’ signature.

“It would be the ultimate power move from Mal Watts (CEO), Will Weaver (head coach), and the Brisbane Bullets to go and get a guy like Patty Mills,” he said.

“They need someone who every time you drive around a bus shelter in Brisbane, there's a face on the front of that bus shelter. There's someone on all the posters doing all of the promotional stuff. They need a guy like Patty Mills, the Brisbane Bullets.”

Mills is currently playing for Tenerife in Spain.