The Denver Nuggets made one of the bigger moves in NBA free agency this summer. They were able to land former Atlanta Hawks All-Star Paul Millsap on a three-year, $90 million deal. His days as an All-Star may be in the past now that he’s playing in the Western Conference, but this move is huge for franchise cornerstone center Nikola Jokic.
Millsap is one of the few power forwards in the game that can play in any system. He is able to play next to any kind of center, a stretch five or a traditional throwback. Millsap wins on both ends of the floor and outworks most players in the building. His lunch pail mentality to playing basketball will be huge for Jokic’s continued growth into stardom.
Adding Millsap did cost the Nuggets their shot at re-signing small forward Danilo Gallinari. He went to the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team trade to land Millsap from the Hawks. Overall, Michael Malone’s team should be in great shape to contend for a playoff berth in the West this spring. The Nuggets will obviously need better play out of point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, but Denver will be in the mix out West for sure.
Wings Gary Harris and Jamal Murray will help give the Nuggets more balance to complement the great frontcourt they will have in Jokic and Millsap. Denver still has viable trade assets, most notably Will Barton, to get better at the trade deadline if the Nuggets really want to make a playoff push. This team won’t win a playoff series, but is certainly good enough to make it to them.