Notes: Mills still belongs to Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers still hold the rights to guard Patty Mills, who is a restricted free agent.

The Blazers have made a qualifying offer worth $937,000 to Mills, which he has yet to accept. The non-guaranteed deal does not expire until March 1, 2011. Thus, if Mills chooses to play in Europe this season, the Blazers would still own his NBA rights. Portland also has the ability to match any offer made by another NBA team to Mills.

The Blazers’ roster is set at 15 players following the signing Monday of rookie guard Armon Johnson. But Portland can carry at least 20 players into training camp. Thus, there is a chance Mills could still compete for a spot with the Blazers in October. If this happens, Portland and Mills would eventually have to reach an agreement about his contract.

The Blazers are about $3 million above the NBA’s luxury tax — set at $70.3 million for the 2010-11 season — following the addition of Johnson. Portland will likely try and find a remedy for the situation if the team makes a trade before the season tips off in late October.