With DeMarre Carroll gone to the great white north, there was added pressure on the Atlanta to make sure they retained the versatile Paul Millsap — he is key to their ball-movement, space-the-floor offense.
They did it.
Millsap had flirted with Orlando but agreed to a three-year contract — the third year is a player option — worth $59 million, a story broken by Shams Charania of Real GM (and since confirmed by multiple sources).
Free agent Paul Millsap has reached agreement with Atlanta on a likely two-year deal, third year option, league source tells RealGM.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2015
Paul Millsap's new deal with the Hawks will be $58 million-plus over next three years, league sources tell RealGM.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2015
Orlando had offered Millsap a max deal of four years, $80 million. And Millsap was said to be seriously considering it.
But what the Hawks offered was the same money for three years, with an opt-out after two, where Millsap could tap into the television money about to flood the NBA market starting next summer. For Millsap in 2017, a max contract would be starting at $34 million a year, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Not that Millsap is going to get it, but that temptation is part of what drove the decision.
Millsap is a perfect fit in Atlanta’sSpursian offense. He’s a power forward who can shoot the three (35.6 percent from three last season), is a very good midrange shooter, he’s strong on the boards, and he’s a fairly good defender. Without him, this team would have taken a big step back, but the team that was the top seed in the East last season has got a lot of key parts coming back.
