Patty Mills is the sole surviving player from the Spurs last NBA title. The 2014 Championship brought a lot of attention to his three-point shooting, his connectivity with the bench players, and the spark he brought to the second unit.
It was common knowledge at the time that Mills was heading into the summer a free agent and his demand was increasing. The New York Knicks reportedly wanted to offer Mills $3.2M, more than double what he was making in San Antonio.
What was unknown at the time was that Patty had suffered a shoulder injury, had been playing hurt, and was going to miss the beginning of the next season to recover from surgery.