Patty Mills is at a crossroads.
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A $10.7 million contract makes him one of the highest-paid Australian athletes on the planet but - after being traded between four NBA teams in 10 days - the Canberra-born guard is stuck warming the bench in Atlanta.
With the Boomers chasing another medal at next year's Olympic Games, can Mills still be Australia's guy as they look to better a bronze finish in Tokyo?
NBL great Cal Bruton is confident Mills' career can still blossom - but the 35-year-old "needs to play".
Mills has played just seven games since the season began in October. He averages 9.5 minutes per game. Twice he managed just five minutes.
Should he bide his time in Atlanta or hunt a new deal with another NBA team? Or is the time right for Mills to follow Matthew Dellavedova back into the NBL to lead a team on home soil?
If only those talks about a Canberra Cannons revival were a little more advanced.
Australian coach Brian Goorjian is keeping a close eye on Mills as he plots the Boomers' path to successive medals at the Olympic Games.
Because while Australia's bronze medal in Tokyo wasn't all about Mills, so much of the narrative rightly revolved around him. It was the crowning moment he had wanted since watching Cathy Freeman win gold in 2000.
Yet with the Paris Olympics just months away, Mills could enter the tournament chasing Australia's first gold medal with barely any NBA minutes under his belt in months.
It's hardly an ideal scenario for a Boomers side stinging after their 2023 FIBA World Cup campaign fell apart. Entering as one of the nations tipped to earn a medal, the Australians were bounced out in the group stage.
Now the focus is on their talisman.
"I'm confident his career is still going to blossom," Bruton said.
"I guess he needs to play. Everyone knows what Patty's passion is all about. He's going to bring it regardless, he's going to keep himself in the best shape. He'll be prepared to win, he's all about the pride, the passion and the purpose.
"I see him as fulfilling a dream on trying to get an Olympic gold medal, I don't think that changes with him even though he is probably not the shining beacon that he has been in previous stops in San Antonio and also Brooklyn.
"You can't take away what he has achieved, because very few have been able to achieve what he has."
Mills' $10.7 million contract makes him one of the highest-paid athletes in Australian sport.
But the competitor in him would want to be playing instead of spending his time on the bench.
Mills is in the midst of the most disruptive period of his 13-year career, while his absence from the Hawks' regular rotation has raised plenty of eyebrows after he was traded between four teams in 10 days in the off-season.
He slid out of the Brooklyn Nets rotation before being traded to the Houston Rockets, who sent him to the Oklahoma City Thunder, before he eventually landed in Atlanta.
His regular place on the Hawks' bench makes for a nervy wait for a Boomers side chasing another Olympic medal with the Paris Games looming in July.
"I would like to think while they're paying him big cheques, I wouldn't be going nowhere," Bruton said with a grin.
"I wouldn't care if I was just sitting on the bench and just had to keep practicing, to keep my jumper ready. Shoot, when you're getting six, seven, eight million US, why would I want to leave?
"Whenever he can come back here, I'm sure he'll put his best foot forward, not dissimilar to what Matthew Dellavedova has done. He can come back and lead a team."