New Atlanta Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk’s first order of business appears to be drawing a line in the sand for Paul Millsap negotiations.
Schlenk, who was hired to the position late last month, hinted to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday that he might not offer Millsap a max deal this summer.
“We are going to make Paul our best offer,” said Schlenk. “Will he have better offers? I don’t know. Do we want to keep Paul? Sure. I said last week, if you’re building a team with all the things I’ve said, Paul checks all those boxes. He’s a hard-worker. He’s a good guy. He’s high-character. Skilled. He does all that.
“We’d like to have him,” Schlenk concluded. “The reality is, he might get better offers than we can make him.”
Millsap, who put up 18.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game for Atlanta last season, has made four straight All-Star teams and counting and remains one of the best all-around power forwards in the game. But he’s 32 years old, and the Hawks’ Millsap-centric core may have already peaked.
Vivlamore adds that Atlanta can offer Millsap up to $205 million over five years, while other teams can only offer $152 million over four years. Still, the Hawks have braced themselves for the possibility of Millsap’s departure in the recent past, so they may very well let him walk if the price gets too high.
