Nuggets Free Agency: Why Paul Millsap is a great target for Denver

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Apr 28, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) passes away from the defense of Washington Wizards forward Markieff Morris (5) in the third quarter of game six of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

More offensive diversity

The Nuggets should be losing Danilo Gallinari, their leading scorer from last season, if they’re going to go after Paul Millsap, so they’ll need some offensive firepower back. They can get that with Millsap. Even though he isn’t the shooter Gallinari is, Millsap can still keep defenses on their toes from 3-point range and he’s comfortable creating off the dribble for himself, using his face-up game to go at defenders, drive into the lane or beat smaller forwards in the post.

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He averaged a career-high 18.1 points per game last season and added yet another career-high in assists with 3.7. Unlike fellow rumored free agency target Blake Griffin, who would need the ball in his hands a lot to be at his best point-forward self, Millsap can complement Nikola Jokic leading the way by simply serving as a sound playmaker when need be, either finding shooters off drives or dishing to cutters at times.

With a Jokic-Millsap frontcourt the Nuggets would have exceptional passing ability, two bigs who can hit from deep, and a new four who can create inside and get to the free throw line (he also had a career-high 5.9 free throw attempts per game in 2016-17), not to mention serve as the team’s best defender and make up for some of Jokic’s weaknesses.

Sure, Millsap is 32 years old and his age doesn’t fit directly with the Nuggets’ timeline grow into a playoff contender. But not everyone on a team has to be the same age; you need a mixture. And while dishing out max (or near max) money sounds painful for when he’s approaching his mid thirties, that’s another reason to possibly offer a shorter contract such as a three-year deal (whether or not he’d still have enough interest in the team that way is yet to be seen).

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The Nuggets have an up and coming situation to offer Millsap where he can play at his best alongside Jokic, receive a good salary, have a fresh start and address a host of needs for the team. Don’t bet on this signing happening as other teams are interested and we don’t know Millsap’s intentions yet, but he could be a seamless fit in Denver.

All statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.