Atlanta Hawks: Are The Trade Rumors Gone For Good?

Is Paul Millsap on the market or are the Atlanta Hawks keeping him long-term? The rumor mill can be confusing.

Earlier this week, the Atlanta Hawks informed all the teams with interest that Paul Millsap, Atlanta’s best player, is no longer available via trade. The star forward will likely still be opting out of the final year of his contract next season, to become a free agent this summer.

The team has been on a tear of late, playing perhaps their best ball all season. Before Friday’s loss to Boston, they had rattled off seven wins in a row. That includes the impressive triumph against the Spurs and the recent 4-0 road trip.

Is it a coincidence that this happened amid reports that the brain trusts of the basketball club were advertising a fire sale across every mainstream media outlet? What’s that you say? They are the top athletes in all the world and they give it their all each and every game?

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It’s fascinating how much better one is able to perform at their workplace when their livelihood becomes in jeopardy. I know, these guys are going to zoom around in plush, lavish jet planes and drive fast cars regardless if they happened to be traded. But, even to millionaires, the total unknown has to be a little frightening.

There is a chance they could send me to Milwaukee? I should bring my A game tonight then. You know, play defense with more tenacity, slam dunk more ferociously, that type of thing.

In star forward Paul Millsap’s case, he actually told ESPN in a report this week that Hawks management assured him that he will not be traded before the Feb. 23 deadline. When asked if staying in Atlanta for the rest of the season is the outcome he wanted, Millsap said:

"“Oh yeah, absolutely. For me and my team, for us to really do something, I think that all the rumors (have) got to stop. I think we are at a good place right now during the season and our main focus is basketball and winning and winning big. Now I can get on with just playing…(instead of waking) up in the morning, look at the media and see what is going on. I don’t have to focus on any of that. I can focus on basketball, where I will be at for the rest of this year and try to win games for this team. We’ll see what happens during the summertime. I actually haven’t thought about anything about that (the summer). It has been about this season, trying to win big. Now everybody can stop talking about it.” Millsap said."

As wonderful as that would be, unfortunately we can’t stop talking about it. Not yet, anyway. I just can’t get a good read or wrap my head around what direction these guys want the Atlanta Hawks to go in.

I think just about everybody was under the impression that President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Mike Budenholzer, as well as General Manager Wes Wilcox were in the first stages of rebuilding around a core of Dennis Schroder, Kent Bazemore and Dwight Howard.

You put one foot in the ring, trade Kyle Korver, now all of a sudden you’re satisfied? Moving on from a 35-year-old, 14-year veteran guard, isn’t exactly what I would call rebuilding. It definitely isn’t a full-blown, tear down and start from scratch deal.

Is the fact that the team is on a winning streak enough of a reason to keep the band together? That doesn’t mean a whole lot, really. As much as I love to see my hometown team prosper, the current run that they are on feels rather tenuous to me.

There may have been a strategy to motivate the players by putting them on the trade block. That’s the only sense that I can muster from it. But even then, didn’t you pretty much just tell everybody that you don’t believe that this team is good enough to beat the Cavaliers come playoff time by gifting them Korver?

I’m sorry, but you don’t exchange a valuable, experienced member of your squad for a future draft pick if you are serious about challenging the Cavs this year. No other teams in the Eastern Conference matter. You can beat each and every one of them in a playoff series with this roster playing it’s best. The whole point of a rebuilding effort would have been to eclipse the LeBron’s team, eventually. That is the main goal, isn’t it?

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Now they actually are set to hang on to Millsap. Have we not learned anything from last summer? Al Horford sung the exact same song that Millsap is. He couldn’t have sounded any more genuine with his intentions, then, he up and left anyway.

I have lobbied as much or more so than anybody for the Hawks to keep Millsap, then try to sign him to a max contract over the off season. But under these circumstances, they should take whatever they can get while they still can. Why are they holding on to the centerpiece of this team, when they have already made it known that they beating the Cavs is impossible?

Paul knows it, he has to. You’ve flirted with trading him twice already. From a professional standpoint, what incentive could he have to stay? It appears that there is now a desperate need to receive compensation for him. If the teams follows this winning streak with another long losing skid, the trade rumors will return.

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Losing Horford was tolerable. But for the same thing to happen with Paul would be devastating. Keeping him for the rest of this season now is a risky move. I don’t understand it. I really don’t.

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