Im willing to gamble that Patty was released due to his injury. Chinese clubs are notorious for cutting players who get injured.

Yep its true. Blazers interested in him returning

I believe the CBA season has only about four to five weeks to run, most if not all of which Mills would have missed so it's probably a pragmatic solution which is best for both parties.

Regular season finishes Feb 15

What were his season numbers like..I dont know where to look lol.

Here's the series of tweets:

Patty Mills has been released by Xinjiang of China Basketball Assoc., source tells Y! Sports. He's been out 10 days with hamstring injury.

Mills wants to return to the Trail Blazers, but it's unclear if he can obtain a FIBA letter of clearance to play before March, source says.

Mills had wanted release from China, but precedent on getting letter of clearance for NBA before China season ends isn't on his side.

Blazers have 15 on roster, so no guarantee letter of clearance gets Mills immediate return. China rules make it unlikely til March, anyway.

Thanks anon..good numbers for him. He really did improve being able to lead a team in the NBL just gave him that bit of experience that was holding him back in the NBA..good luck to him

He should be forced to stick it out to march regardless... He got greedy and now he wants to complain about the situation. He knew the country and league had issues in comparison to Australia and the NBL. He wanted the money, so make him pay for his greediness, same with rest of the NBA players stuck there

Remember when we got Cat back from europe and he had similar stories re his ankle i think. Its just reality that you get treated more like a bit of meat as apposed to an asset.

Hopefully he get healthy and get back on an NBA team sooner or later if need be.

I suppose I should have seen it coming give Kenyon Martin and Bob Donewald's recent acrimonious separations from the same club. But in the case of Martin, he was producing solid but unspectacular numbers, and Donewald was an obvious scapegoat for the team's perceived lack of performance, being the coach.

In the case of Mills, however, he was playing huge before his injury, and seems to indicate that he would be fit to play this Saturday if required. That's several games before the end of the regular season and if the Flying Tigers retained him, I find it difficult to believe that he would not continue to perform in a similar manner, giving the team a good springboard into the playoffs.

Something about this situation stinks to high heaven.

Good replacement for Balls...

How is that Skip?

lol Ricey stop being jelly.

Seems like a common chain of events for an OS import when you put it in perspective. Look at how many imports for Adelaide havent worked out and have been released for any number of reasons. Seems to me Patty just had some bad advice, presumably from his agent, in regards to timing and risk/reward with signing in China.
What is his contract situation with the Blazers, as they have 15 signed players already, and the signing of Crawford as a combo guard has done Patty no favours in the depth charts.
Would love to see him sign with the Bulls. With Watson partially dilocating an elbow, the bulls have no depth behind Rose, which was glaring against Altanta yesterday.

so not only is Mills a flopper but he's a faker too lol ;)

Today's Herald-Sun: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/injury-is-no-fake-patty-mills/story-e6frfglf-1226236924515

I just think the situation has turned bad following the coache's sacking. Language and culture clashes may also have played a part in this. Mills has always acted professionally and with integrity everywhere he has played and I can see no reason to believe he has done anything differently this time around.

Will be interesting to see whether he gets his FIBA release so he can play elsewhere immediately prior to the official end of the Chinese Basketball Association season...

Surely he can get FIBA clearance if his team cuts him like that.

Especially if he has medical evidence to prove they are falsely accusing him of lying.

IF he can get clearance then a few NBA should be interested.

IMO FIBA is a toothless tiger (pardon the pun given the team name in China) and will bow to pressure from China to not grant Patty a clearance which would then stop any return to the NBA (or anywhere)until the Chinese season is over. If you look at the comments coming from the Chinese team it looks as if they want to blame anyone (particularly foreigners) rather than accept the truth about the situation. This is very similar to the problems foreigners face when dealing with Chinese companies. Given this situation and the sacking of the coach and another import, and then Patty's treatment, surely this should be a warning to other players planning to go to China.

Mystro = Idiot

Pretty sure he could come back to the NBL or go to Europe any time.

CBA is just not granting releases to go back to the NBA.

Although did Yi paly in the CBA during the lockout??

If so he just signed with Dallas Mavs and if they gave him a clearance then the othe NBA players may be able to challenge the CBA in court.

MJ23: sarcasm, you heard of it ? ( ;) is usually a little give away )

On channel 7 they conclusively said he faked his injury and that's why he was sacked, what a load of crap.

Channel 7 = quality journalism - NOT!

Aussiebballer - I believe that because Yi is Chinese he wasn't under the same import "rules" the CBA defined for the likes of Patty and JR Smith.

If their wording was serious enough, there could be a defamation case there. I imagine they wriggled through talking about it being alleged by his Chinese team, etc.

Certainly not well handled by the Xinjiang Flying Tigers that's for sure!

Would an Australian national really have a chance at a defamation case like that in China?

I think Isaac was talking about action against 7.

Yeah, someone suggested that strong comments were made by Seven.

That wanker who introduces the sport on Nine news during non-ratings time, Troy Something-or-other, tonight also had a fair crack at Patty, saying he had faked an injury. "How's that Kev, he faked an injury?!!" he repeated after the misinformed item.
F me!
These wanks have no idea about our sport or about Patty yet they spout crap like that!

Put yourself in the Chinese teams shoes, they forked out big money to bring talent to their league and then the minute the NBA is back on all their Imports go down with injuries etc. They def could have handled it better and not automatically lump everyone else in with JR Smith but they are trying to protect their investments.

strong mail that he has been back in touch with Tigers about finishing off the NBL season and has verbally agreed to do so!

All pending on FIBA and 1 final discussion with a NBA team however there is more security coming back to Melb as NBA team are reluctant to sign him unless he runs around in the D-League first to prove his fitness.

That was always a big chance once he signed in China, an NBA deal in March is a long shot. That would certainly add a third genuine title contender to the mix.

Anyone across how a Chinese team can 'cut' a player (which I assume means terminate their contract) then withhold a release letter allowing them to play elsewhere?

I'd understand if the player simply walked, but it's the team that has terminated Patty. He should be free to play wherever he wants and not be held to ransom by a club who no longer wants his services.

If they actually believe he faked an injury, take it up with FIBA formally or issue proceedings. Making statements in the media to save face is very unprofessional. Maybe there's a cultural element I don't understand? Can anyone comment on that?

Seems Patty's situation is far different to Chandler and Martin who asked to be released, and are not being provided with a release letter until the date their contract would have ended in March.

good post thedoctor

I believe it is the CBA that grants the clearance, not the club?

paul - same point applies. Whether it's the club or the league that issues the clearance, if it's the club that's released Patty, why would there be any grounds to delay the clearance?

If they think that they're gonna make things difficult , not play , create problems , what's gonna happen is that teams will not release their letters of clearance. There's no way out.
Some players could try to force there way out , but the contracts allow the clubs to suspend players without pay.
They can play here til March and get paid or wait til March and not get paid.

I guess if it was in the player contract that the CBA wouldnt grant releases until the end of the season they would have grounds.

Hard to say without seeing the contract, but the CBA has made it pretty clear they wouldnt be releasing imports. Time will tell I suppose.

paul - hard to see anyone agreeing to a contract that, even after it's terminated, prevents a player being employed in another league. Again, I can understand it if Patty walked away from his obligations but he didn't.

The CBA made it clear that there were no 'out clauses', allowing a player to walk if the NBA lockout ended. That's fair enough, but it can't stop a player going elsewhere if the player's contract has been terminated by its team.

FIBA needs to show leadership and resolve the issue, which they are probably in the process of doing

Well, all the NBA players who signed CBA contracts knew there wouldnt be releases, so there must be some sort of stipulation in the contract. Like I said, time will tell to what extent that is.

paul - the contract has been terminated. By the club.

The 'no release' was in regards to players seeking to release themselves from the contracts early.

Surely you can see the difference?

Employment and other contracts often have clauses that survive termination, such as confidentiality provisions. If the 'no release' clause were to survive termination, it has the effect of not allowing players to play anywhere.

Patty knew he would have to meet his contractual obligations to his Chinese club, whatever happened in regards to the NBA lockout. The club has now terminated his contract, so he should be free to play anywhere he wants.

Doctor you are spot on with what you say. I posted similar in another forum a day ago. The no release clauses were to nprevent players bailing once the lockout ended and were iron clad AFAIK. JR Smith tried to jerk his team around a bit to see if they would cut him but seams to have settled and is pouring in the points. Mills had been on fire with his CBA team and based on performance even since the lockout ended I dont think he dogged anything and would/shoukld have been able to play out the season until injured. Once this happened you are then in the hands of rich Chinese owners and anyone who attempts to apply logic/common sense to what they do knows very little about how the Chinese operate. It is all obout power and face as someone else said. If decisions need to be made they almost always favour the rich, those with political contacts (these two things almost always go hand in hand) and locals will almost always get favoured over foreigners.
FIBA needs to step in here but I don't see it happening.

the doctor, you are trying to create an argument where there isnt one. All Im saying is that the CBA made it clear they would not be releasing players early, and they probably set up some sort of stipulation to back that up.

I even recall them releasing a statement saying they wouldnt release players who took action to get themselves terminated by their club. Time will tell if this is true.

BTW thedoctor, important to note that the club terminated the contract, but the CBA grants the release. That is an important difference.

paul - I'm not creating an argument, just pointing out the important distinction between a player bailing on a contract versus a team informing a player it no longer requires their services.

A player who has been terminated isn't seeking to be 'released early' as you put it. In fact, they no longer have an association with the Chinese club or league. The question is, what are they being 'released' from? And on what basis is this being withheld?

Ultimately it's a FIBA decision to approve Patty's next move. The Chinese league, if they choose to withhold a release letter, will end up looking pretty silly.

As far as I know, any player who moves from one country to another has to be released by that federation, even if they no longer have a contract. For example, Andre Brown had to be released by the Greek federation to play for the Wildcats even though he no longer had a contract there. That is why imports are often waiting for 'clearance'.

So if the CBA has set something up that can be upheld in Chinese law, they can withhold a release from Mills. Given that's what they have stated they will, there is a fair chance that is what will happen, particularly in China as ftsos pointed out.

If you have contacts(guanxi)almost anything can be upheld in the Chinese legal system.

In saying that it would appear to be very unfair to cut someone, not pay them as a result and also not allow them to earn money playing anywhere else.

'Fair' and 'China' don't belong in the same sentence.

I understand that FIBA would olrdinarily wait for a clearance letter from the league the player is leaving. However, if that letter isn't forthcoming and the player disagrees with the reason for the delay or failure to provide the letter, on your thinking that player can't play anywhere for as long as the letter is withheld.

FIBA are the governing body, they ultimately determine whether a player's next contract is registered and the player is able to play.

My view is that if Mills has been cut by the club and the Chinese league witholds a release letter for no defined reason forcing him to sit on his backside until March, FIBA would register his next contract anyway, allowing him to play.

Chinese courts have no bearing on any FIBA decision. They may have some bearing on an action against Mills for 'faking' an injury but enforcing any judgement against Mills would be very difficult. He may want to skip the next Boomers tour of China though......

I recall reading somewhere that Mills had received full payment up front for his contact (not sure if that is accurate though) so maybe when we are reading he has been released by the club they are just meaning they won't be letting him play. I guess if that's the case and they have paid him in full then they can withhold his right to play elsewhere until his contract period is up.

If however they havnt paid him then im 100% with the doctor and his view of the situation.

Just saw this in relation to Yi Jianlin. From the below, it's the club that issues the release, not the league. It was the CBA's rules that forbid any in-season out clauses. Again, that isn't relevant to Patty's situation.

"Unlike Wilson Chandler, J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin and Aaron Brooks -- who signed in China during the lockout and who will not be able to return to play in the NBA until the Chinese season ends in March -- Yi will receive his FIBA letter of clearance from Guangdong to immediately join the Mavericks because the Chinese Basketball Association's rules forbidding in-season out clauses for NBA players does not apply to Chinese nationals."

My thoughts are that FIBA wouldnt try and overturn something that was legally binding in one of its member countries, particularly China which generates so much money for the international game. I think it will come down to what the CBA decides.

Let's hope he is released and an NBA team has a spot for him.

Money up front , hotel suite , driver , chef
to make him feel more comfortable there and they face forfeiture of the games he played in , if he played in another league without their letter of release.

Ok paul - so the Chinese club witholds letter forever, Patty has to retire.

Hows' this for speculation. Mills is injured. Prognosis is three to six weeks to recover. This is deemed an unacceptable length for Xinjiang to be without the services of an import guard in the leadup to the playoffs. So they have to cut him. But they can't do it for underperforming as Mills is seventh in the league in scoring.

So they bake an easily believed story of yet another overseas prima donna wanting out. All they need is one of their own medicos to back it up and they are good to go.

Having taken this line, they have to disallow Mills a clearance as to do otherwise discredits their position.

Read what I said above Doctor, I think it is the CBA's decision, not the club's. The suggestion of 'forever' is silly. For the length of the season is quite possible given the CBA's clearly stated stance. Let's hope not, although the Tigers probably are!

ESPN reporting that the clearance letter is issued by the club - but FIBA rules indicate it is the member federation.

Patty's contract, as widely reported, included a 'no out' clause preventing an early exit in the event of an end to the lockout. That issue isn't relevant here, as there has been no attempt by Patty to walk.

Club cuts Patty (terminates contract). This means, barring express provisions that survive termination, Patty is no longer bound by the terms of the contract leaving him free to play wherever he wants.

I suspect that aussieboomers4eva has neatly summed up the motivations of the club. That still doesn'y explain or justify why Patty would be subject to the terms of the contract after it has been terminated by the club.

'Forever' is silly, but it does make my point. What if Patty had signed a two year deal? Not out of the question - would he have to sit out 18 months of basketball? The same principle applies to 3 months or two years.

FIBA isn't the ICB and China isn't India.

See below: only becomes relevant when Patty has another contract on the table. Note that a letter of clearance can't be withheld if the player is no longer under contract. Patty's has been terminated, FIBA rules say he gets his clearance letter.

http://www.fiba.com/downloads/v3_expe/agen/docs/4-INTERNATIONAL-TRANSFERS-OF-PLAYERS.pdf

46. The only reason for which a national member federation may refuse to grant the request
for a letter of clearance is if the player is under contract to play for his club beyond the
scheduled transfer date. See article 3-76.
A letter of clearance may not be delayed or refused because of a monetary dispute
between a club and a player.

If the request for clearance is ignored:

77. If there is no response within the seven (7) day period, the requesting national member
federation shall immediately notify FIBA. This communication must be accompanied by a
copy of the first letter requesting clearance addressed to the national member federation
concerned and a copy of the passport of the player in question. FIBA will authorise the
granting of the license without a letter of clearance, unless there are exceptional
circumstances as approved by the Secretary General

Let's hope that's the case, but remember we are talking about China, and we dont know what rules the CBA has put in place.

We should know soon enough.

Same FIBA rules apply to a transfer from the Chinese league as they do to any other league. It's the FIBA rules that are relevant, not any CBA rule.

It's pretty clear.

I hope you are right, but china is probably fiba's most important country financially, so if the CBA digs their heels in fiba might be reluctant to step in. Let's hope it is all straight forward for Patty's sake.

As I've said many times to one pair of deaf ears, the devil could be in the detail of this one. As I've also said many times, I hope not. Goodnight.

Things were broken up out there when they sacked the coach and he wasn't happy.

statman re: possibly paying mills his full salary already i doubt that is true. i dont know any business that would fork out that much money before they had to, and even if so if the team sacks/releases a contracted player they have to pay out the full contract anyway. the only way they wouldnt would possibly be if they release the contracted player and he signs with another club in the period he still would have been contracted the previous team may or may not be released from honoring the full financial contract then. and i say maybe it depends on the details.


this to me smacks of office politics. sacked the coach, get rid of a star player recruited by the former coach and protect yourself etc. as patty mills himself said anyone with any interest in the matter is free to speak to his doctor or have a look at his scans.

the Chinese have probably already cloned him and everyone else from the NBA and no longer need them.

If it was any place but China mystro, i wouldn't believe that

An update on Mills linked below. Hoping for a clearance but no luck so far. Apparently there were some meetings last week to try and get some action but it doesn't appear they were successful. Let’s hope something happens in the near future. Be a shame if he had to sit out another two months.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Aq5ITbbLn4AAqIW.cn06Dwa8vLYF?slug=ap-pattymills

Video interview here with Patty after the Blazers game yesterday:

http://www.csnnw.com/pages/landingblazers?Former-Blazer-Patty-Mills-interview=1&blockID=629990&feedID=5212

No sign of a clearance letter yet. Until his management can negotiate that he isnt going anywhere. It could be March, but hopefully it is in four weeks when the regular season ends or even sooner. Xinjiang arent likely to make the playoffs so that is possible.