Paul Millsap will be headed back to the Western Conference this season after agreeing to a 3-year, $90 million deal with the Denver Nuggets, ending his very successful tenure in Atlanta after four seasons. Millsap joined the Hawks in 2013 after spending seven years in Utah, and in his first season in Atlanta he posted career-best numbers on his way to his first All-Star team.
Millsap made the Eastern Conference All-Star squad in all four seasons in Atlanta, as he emerged as one of the league’s top power forwards during his time with the Hawks. Part of that was Millsap simply being handed a bigger role and part of that was that the Hawks helping develop his offensive game further, as he became a much more active perimeter shooter in Atlanta.
That bigger role and development he got with the Hawks is part of the reason Millsap was in position this summer to sign a deal worth $30 million per year, and he made sure to thank the city of Atlanta and Hawks organization for his time on Thursday.
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It’s a nice touch from Millsap to note the role his time in Atlanta had on his career development and thank the fan base for their support over his four years there. Millsap now seems to be headed to a perfect situation in Denver, where he complements emerging star center Nikola Jokic and should make them a formidable offensive pair. It will be interesting to see how the Nuggets fair in the suddenly hyper-competitive Western Conference playoff race, but the Millsap addition at least keeps them in the playoff hunt despite the arms race that’s gone on this summer.
