Paul Millsap: Atlanta Hawks never made an offer during free agency

Paul Millsap says he was never offered a contract extension by the Hawks, leading to him agreeing to a three-year, $90 million deal with the Nuggets.

Paul Millsap is headed to the Denver Nuggets.

After signing a lucrative deal with Denver, Millsap seemed pretty disappointed Atlanta never made an offer for him to stick around. After playing seven years in Utah and four with the Hawks, Millsap will join his third NBA team.

Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution had the following statement from Millsap:

"“It was pretty simple,” Millsap told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday. “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 and Atlanta. Atlanta decided to go another direction. They didn’t want to make an offer. So it was pretty simple. Denver was the team.”"

Millsap, 32, is a four-time All-Star who will surely give the Nuggets a jolt. Denver hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2012-2013 season and is clearly trying to win now. Millsap, along with young rising star Nikola Jokic, makes up a very scary frontcourt. Factoring in Kenneth Faried as well, Denver may be postseason bound. However, Millsap did seem a tad frustrated with the Hawks’ decision not to offer him a deal.

"“Definitely disappointing,” Millsap said. “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.”"

Next: Paul Millsap signs with Nuggets: 5 biggest questions

With Atlanta also trading Dwight Howard this summer, the Hawks are in a full rebuild mode. The transaction of Millsap going to the Mile High City continues the theme of Western Conference teams loading up while the East looks weaker each passing day.