Paul Millsap said Monday that the Atlanta Hawks made his decision to join the Denver Nuggets “simple” by not making him a contract offer.
The star power forward told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about his decision a day after agreeing to sign with the Nuggets. He will receive a three-year, $90 million contract, sources told ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
The third year of the deal is a team option, sources said, which limits the Nuggets’ liability for the 32-year-old, who has made the All-Star team in each of the past four seasons. The signing was first reported by The Vertical.
“It was pretty simple,” Millsap told the newspaper. “Denver, they came and they’ve been wanting me for years. They made that known. The presentation that they gave me, it felt comfortable, it felt real. At the end of the day it was going to be the team that I felt most comfortable with.
“Atlanta decided to go another direction. They didn’t want to make an offer. So it was pretty simple. Denver was the team.”
He told the Journal-Constitution that the Hawks’ decision not to make an offer was “definitely disappointing” after he spent the past four seasons with Atlanta.
“I thought I meant a bit more than that to them. But it is what it is. I’m happy with the decision I’ve made. I’m happy with the team I’m with. I’m ready to get it going with them,” he told the newspaper.
Millsap was an All-Star each of the past four seasons.
His arrival in Denver likely will mean that free agent Danilo Gallinari is headed elsewhere. Gallinari had a positive meeting with the LA Clippers on Sunday, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Paul Millsap: Choice to join Nuggets easy, as Hawks never made offer – ESPN