By Jordan Long
The Denver Nuggets have a verbal agreement with power forward Paul Millsap. The deal is not final until July 6th when the NBA moratorium period ends. The contract will be for 3-years and worth $90 million. The 3rd year of the deal is a team option. The Nuggets eyed Millsap from the start.
Millsap will be entering his 12th NBA season and the Denver Nuggets are his 3rd team. He previously played for the Utah Jazz and the Atlanta Hawks. in his career Millsap has proven to be a scorer and a defender, averaging 14.2 points, 1.0 blocks, 1.3 steals, and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Last year, Millsap averaged 18.1 points, 0.9 blocks, and 7.7 rebounds per game in the regular season. He helped the Atlanta Hawks make the playoffs as the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately the Hawks lost in the first-round to the Washington Wizards 4 games to 2. Millsap was one of the top Hawks’ players averaging 24.3 points, 0.7 blocks and 9.3 rebounds per game.
When it came to the moratorium, the Denver Nuggets wanted Millsap in the beginning in hopes he would improve the defense. They have a young All-Star in center Nikola Jokic who is 22 years old. They sought a veteran to pair him up with. Adding Paul Millsap will do that. The Nuggets might have the top frontcourts in the NBA with the move.
The Nuggets knew how valuable Millsap is. The only problem with the deal is how much they are paying for him. It’s $30 million per season, far too much money. He is not worth that kind of money per year but the Nuggets had to overpay because if they didn’t another team would.
The Nuggets with this one move are better offensively and defensively. Jokic won’t need to be the only defender down low. Millsap will take the pressure off of him. The only way this deal is worth it is if the Nuggets make the playoffs for the next three years.
What do you think of the Denver Nuggets agreeing to a verbal contract with veteran power forward Paul Millsap?
Leave a Reply