One of Australia's most prolific NBA stars could be set to become an NBL team owner, with speculation that Patty Mills may be interested in buying the Cairns Taipans.
Mills, 36, is a 16-year NBA veteran, having recently finished the 2024-25 season as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers.
While there has been much debate around whether or not Mills will return to Australia as a player, the league could be preparing to instead welcome him as a team owner.
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Is Patty Mills buying the Cairns Taipans?
It was announced earlier this week that the Cairns Taipans were in the process of entering private ownership, having previously existed as a not-for-profit community-owned club.
NBL expert Peter Hooley announced during an episode of 'NBL Now' that the team was in "advanced conversations about private ownership... hand-in-hand with recruiting marquee-level talent."
"It really seems more of a when this happens, not if.
"Speaking to the club, they told me 'We are going all in.' They understand that they can’t compete to win titles the way it’s previously been.
"This will be a significant change for them. It is super exciting for the whole club and the whole league, because this then puts them right back in the mix with what they’re capable of doing."
Just a day after this episode released, former NBA player and Australian basketball legend Chris Anstey posted to X, formerly Twitter, saying 'Patty Mills, amazing if true!' alongside a snake emoji.
Patty Mills 🐍 👀
— Chris Anstey (@ChrisAnstey13) May 30, 2025
Amazing if true!
Many fans interoperated as the NBA champion being involved in the Taipans new ownership, especially considering the lengths to which Mills has spoken about returning to the league in the past.
However, it is unclear if this refers to Mills as an owner, a player, or something else entirely.
He would not be the first NBA player to invest in NBL ownership - Luc Longley and Andrew Bogut are members of the Kings ownership group, John Wall, Dante Exum, and Zach Randolph are part owners of the South East Melbourne Phoenix, while Khris Middleton, Kevin Martin and Thaddeus Young are invested in the Brisbane Bullets.
Bogut could provide the blueprint for Mills' involvement with the Taipans, playing for the team for a number of seasons before transitioning into the ownership group - the 36-year-old holding strong ties to the Torres Strait Islands through his father, to which the closest franchise is by far the Taipans.