Atlanta Hawks: 8 Free Agents in Playoffs Hawks Could Sign in Offseason
By Chris Guest
Paul Millsap
Could it be? Could the Anchorman really return to the Atlanta Hawks franchise – a franchise that provided him with four straight All-Star appearances?
It’s a possibility.
Millsap has a mammoth team option with the Denver Nuggets for next worth $30.5 million. Though Paul has played extremely well this season for Denver – leading them to the #2 seed in a stacked Western Conference – the Nugs might get starry-eyed and look to employ that $30 million in cap space on different players.
If that’s the case, that would open the door for Millsap to return to the welcoming arms of an organization that helped secure his stature in the league. The question is: Would Millsap make sense on this team?
John Collins, as electrifying as he is on the offensive end, has not been much of a difference maker on the less glamorous end. That, of course, is where Millsap is among the best in the league at the four spot, so perhaps Millsap could be used as a defensive calming presence off the bench for one of the most notable teams he’s played for in his career.
Millsap was third in the league in ESPN’s real plus/minus among power forwards with a 4.37 RPM, and he was 6th among fours in both ORPM (1.32) and DRPM (3.05).
Paul has long been an extremely effective player, and it would be nice to see him finish out his career with the team that helped mold him into the star he is today.