Why a sign and trade for Millsap could be beneficial

With the Hawks having a questionable future, rumors are once again swirling about the Nuggets being interested in Millsap.

Paul Millsap will  be one of the premier free agents headlining the market this summer. With that in mind, there seems to be renewed interest within Nuggets Nation in the All-Star.

However, Denver could actually benefit from conducting a sign and trade with Atlanta compared to snagging him in free agency. This would give the Nuggets a chance to offload some hefty contracts and utilize even more cap space for a max deal for Millsap. Or better yet, try to lure in a third star, *cough, Chris Paul, *cough.

It seems to be clear now that the Hawks are officially going to rebuild, so getting them to agree to a deal may not take much persuasion. As much as I love Faried’s play, it may be time to let his contract go and package him with Chandler, Nelson and possibly even Darrell Arthur.

This would free up both cap room and roster space for the Nuggets allowing them more freedom this free agency. If you still do not believe me, then look at an excerpt from this Denversiffs article.

"The Denver Nuggets engaged in trade talks last summer for Millsap, only to be shut out once Al Horford signed with Boston. They inquired at the trade deadline last year as well. Millsap reportedly has interest from several teams but after the Howard news broke, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst had this to say about the rumors swirling around Millsap in an ESPN video interview:“There are three or four teams out there that are willing to give Paul Millsap a max-level contract, and sources have told me that the Hawks have already begun getting some feelers on Paul Millsap sign-and-trades. Teams like the Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets [are] interested in Paul Millsap, and this is so interesting Lisa because at midseason Paul Millsap was put on the trade block and there was a revolt in the locker room and Mike Budenholzer, the team president pushed back against it. They took him off the trade block and then here we are a few months later – they’re probably going to lose Paul Millsap anyway and Mike Budenholzer is no longer in charge of the team.”"

There is no doubt about it. Denver is ready to heavily pursue the Atlanta All-Star.

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A sign and trade may actually work out in the long run contrary to popular belief.