Paul Millsap has had his name included in many trade rumors this summer. Trading the three-time NBA All-Star could be a colossal mistake.
The summer in the NBA is filled with rumors. And for the Atlanta Hawks, the rumor mill was spinning viciously as free agency began.
After the dust settled, the Hawks ended up re-signing Kent Bazemore, adding Dwight Howard, and during all that looked for potential trade suitors for Paul Millsap.
Throwing player’s names in trade rumors can have an effect that people on the outside seem to miss quite often. Just imagine your employer trying to trade you to another company and when they don’t get the offer they want, they just act like nothing happened and expect you to keep producing at a high level.
That’s what these NBA players have to deal with. Luckily, Millsap is a 10-year veteran that understands the business of the NBA and as long as he is suiting up for the Hawks, he’s going to represent them as best as he can.
Millsap was recently asked about his name being involved in trade talks:
"“Not my first time; not going to be my last,” Millsap said when asked about the trade talk by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. “The business is the business. I don’t think anyone is OK with it but it is what it is. You have to accept it for what it is. I’m an Atlanta Hawk. I will be until further notice. I’m going to put everything on the floor to help this team and this community win.”"
The business mindset behind potentially trading Millsap comes in when taking into mind that he will become an unrestricted free agent next summer. It’s a situation that teams are put in every season: one of their key players are on the verge of becoming a free agent the following summer, so they look to trade that player hoping they can receive numerous assets in return.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are in the same position with Russell Westbrook right now. It’s an extremely tough decision to make, but remember, these GM’s are businessmen first. They’ll do whatever will benefit the franchise for the future instead of rolling the dice and potentially lose their superstar (like we saw with a fellow named Kevin Durant).
However, the situation with Millsap is different from the Thunder’s with Westbrook. Millsap is heading into this season with many new teammates from last season, especially in the starting lineup. Although there will likely be two changes in Dennis Schroder at point guard and Howard at center, they both offer new dynamics offensively and defensively.
Millsap spoke to the AJC about what Howard brings to the Hawks:
"“Offensively, we have a consistent roll guy, a guy who can put pressure on the basket every time you set a pick-and-roll,” Millsap told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. “He’s a guy you have to pay attention to down low. We are hoping, and I think everyone sees the vision, of the court opening up. A lot more open shots. A little more physicality. Things that we needed to get better at, I think we have.”"
Howard and Horford are two All-Star caliber big men, but they offer completely different skills.
"“They are two good players,” Millsap said of Horford and Howard. “Al has evolved into a good 3-point shooter. A lot of times, he was popping on the screens. We know what Dwight is going to do. He’s going to roll hard to the basket. The defense has to zone in and sync down. The open shots will be available. We’ve got to knock them down.”"
Pulling the trigger and trading Millsap could leave a ‘what if’ question that could come back and haunt the Hawks for years.
Giving Millsap time to develop a chemistry with Howard as his frontcourt mate could very well weigh into his decision of re-signing with the team following the 2016-17 season. One possible plan of attack for the Hawks is to keep Millsap and wait and see how the two mesh–keeping the option alive to try and deal Millsap more towards the trade deadline. The only flaw with taking that measure is trade suitors won’t offer as much because they can just wait until free agency to offer Millsap a contract and securing him for multiple years.
These predicaments can get quite confusing and most times, the better move is to trade away the player and get what you can in return. But Millsap has been a staple for this Hawks team for the past three years, so if this revitalized roster shows him that they could be realistic contenders for the coming years, it may just be enough to entice Millsap to remain in Atlanta for the long haul.
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"“Good moves. It should be a great year for us. We filled in the gaps that we needed to fill in. I think we’ve got a lot of young talent that is capable of being something special. Millsap told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Around the board, I think we did a good job of being able to compete in this league.”"