The free agent reserve now faces the possibility of missing a portion of the 2014-15 season after a breakout campaign in San Antonio.
Free-agent point guard Patty Mills suffered a torn rotator cuff and will miss Australia's world cup run during the offseason and potentially the first three months of the 2014-15 season, as reported by ESPN's Marc Stein via The Sydney Morning Herald.
The Spurs super-reserve from 2013-14 will undergo surgery in the coming days to repair damage that lingered throughout the season and got progressively worse as it wore on. A scan revealed the damage would require surgery just two weeks following San Antonio's NBA title run.
The news is devastating for Australia, which was looking to forward to a shot at earning a medal in international competition. Mills is devastated by the news and now will focus on re-joining the Spurs at full strength as quickly as possible.
Mills played in 81 games for the Spurs last season and averaged 10.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists as Tony Parker's back-up. He posted a Basketball-Reference.com player efficiency rating of 18.7, which was the highest in any full season for his career.
Where he was most valuable was in the playoffs, where he provided consistency in the backcourt and shot 41 percent from the three-point line in 23 games. He is currently an unrestricted free agent, and the injury could cost him.