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Paul Millsap Trade Rumors: 10 NBA Teams That Should Trade For Him

By Gerald Bourguet

Oct 29, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) shoots from the foul line during the third quarter of the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Atlanta Hawks won 104-72. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) shoots from the foul line during the third quarter of the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Atlanta Hawks won 104-72. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports /
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Paul Millsap trade rumors
Apr 28, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) drives to the hoop against Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder (left) during the second half in game six of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Boston Celtics

If anyone could make the Atlanta Hawks a Godfather offer, it’s the Boston Celtics. If they’re indeed interested, they should be the frontrunner in the Paul Millsap sweepstakes, since their collection of assets could trump any other trade package.

The question is, how interested is Danny Ainge in reuniting an Al Horford-Millsap frontcourt that has historically struggled with the Cleveland Cavaliers? Because as great as Millsap would be in Boston, the goal here is to make a deal that gets the Celtics over the LeBron James-shaped hump.

With Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley playing the best basketball of their careers, not to mention Jae Crowder and Marcus Smart bolstering the defense, Ainge might be inclined to think the Hawks’ former frontcourt would fare better against the Cavs this time around.

If that’s the case, there are several potential avenues for the Celtics to explore.

To match salaries and provide the Hawks with a Millsap replacement at the 4, Amir Johnson would almost have to be included. Tyler Zeller‘s $8 million salary is close to Johnson’s $12 million contract, but he’s nowhere near as attractive to Atlanta as Amir.

From there, it could be a matter of choosing between Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley or Marcus Smart. IT is all but off limits in the middle of a career season, and the Hawks would probably prefer someone who could play the 2 like Bradley or Smart anyway.

Giving up either one would be a gut-punch for the Celtics, but a potentially necessary one…unless they were willing to give up one of their valuable future first round draft picks, like the rights to swap first round picks with the Brooklyn Nets this year.

That might be too much for Boston to give up, but it might spare them of surrendering Bradley or Smart, allowing them to replace that salary space with someone like Jonas Jerebko instead.

Unfortunately, there’s no trade scenario that Atlanta would agree to where Boston keeps all of Smart, Bradley, Crowder AND one of their valuable first-rounders. Amir, Kelly Olynyk and/or Jerebko isn’t getting the job done, unless a trade chip like Jaylen Brown were also in play.

The Celtics have plenty of flexibility in putting together a deal, so it’d really be a matter of stringing together the right contracts and getting Atlanta to buy in — all without sacrificing too much of the team’s East-contending core. It’s a difficult line to straddle, but a core of Thomas, Bradley, Crowder, Millsap and Horford could absolutely push Cleveland in a seven-game series.

For the Hawks, they’d use Amir as a direct replacement for Horford and hope to add one of Bradley, Smart or perhaps even a top-five pick in this year’s draft (via Brooklyn). This one really depends on how much Ainge buys into Millsap being the difference-maker he’s been looking for, because if he does, he has the assets to pry him from Atlanta.

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