NBA Rumors: Mavericks Could Sign Paul Millsap In 2020 Free Agency, Per ‘Bleacher Report’
After the Denver Nuggets got eliminated in the 2020 Playoffs, rumors started to swirl around veteran power forward Paul Millsap and his future with the team. The Nuggets have already expressed their desire to bring Millsap back in the 2020 free agency, but the 35-year-old big man remains undecided about whether he will ink a new deal with Denver. Once he starts entertaining other offers this fall, he is expected to receive strong interest from teams that are in dire need of a frontcourt boost and veteran presence on their roster.
One of Millsap’s potential suitors in the 2020 offseason is the Dallas Mavericks. In a recent article, Zack Buckley of Bleacher Report created a list of the best 2020 free agents each team can sign this year. For the Mavericks, Buckley thinks it’s Millsap.
“Millsap’s All-Star days are well behind him, but the 35-year-old still offers two-way versatility, outside shooting, toughness and a genius-level basketball IQ. Millsap, who has only missed the playoffs once since 2014, has a wealth of experience and knowledge to share with the Mavs’ young centerpieces, Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. He could also make their on-court lives easier as his shooting and ball movement could be release vales for Doncic, and his ability to defend multiple positions would allow Porzingis to stay in his comfort zones at that end.”
At 35, Millsap obviously doesn’t fit the timeline of Mavericks’ franchise cornerstones Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. However, for a team that is aiming to fully dominate the loaded Western Conference and bring home the Larry O’Brien Trophy in the 2020-21 NBA season, his age wouldn’t mean much as long he’s still capable of doing the task that Coach Rick Carlisle asks him to do.
Though he’s already on the downside of his career, Millsap remains a force to be reckoned with on both ends of the floor and could address the Mavericks’ need for a “tough vet” to support Doncic and Porzingis. He would give the Mavericks an established, veteran big man who could help them in terms of rebounding, facilitating the ball, scoring, defense, and floor-spacing. This season, he averaged 11.6 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 48.2 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from beyond the arc, per ESPN.
However, to convince Millsap to leave Denver for Dallas, the Mavericks will likely need to give him an irresistible offer. The best-case scenario for the Mavericks is convincing him to sign a one-year lucrative deal in the 2020 free agency. This will allow them to become more competitive next year while maintaining their salary cap flexibility in the summer of 2021.
