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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
Mar 17, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) grabs a rebound over Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) in the first quarter at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Denver Nuggets

At some point, the Denver Nuggets need to turn this team completely over to its youth. Moving guys like Kenneth Faried, Danilo Gallinari and/or Wilson Chandler — who are basically interchangeable in this hypothetical deal — is step one in doing so.

There’s no rush, of course, since Emmanuel Mudiay, Gary Harris and Nikola Jokic are all currently starting, but the 4-spot could use some help and an experienced vet like Paul Millsap would be a welcome addition to this team’s emerging basketball culture.

If the Hawks would be willing to take on a workhorse like Faried and a center who’s been banished from Denver’s rotation like Jusuf Nurkic, the Nuggets shouldn’t think twice about pulling the trigger. There’s the inherent risk of him leaving for nothing in free agency, but can you imagine a Millsap-Jokic frontcourt for the foreseeable future if they did re-sign him?

https://twitter.com/MrNateTimmons/status/815969413040078848

For the Hawks, they’d be getting an immediate Millsap replacement in Faried, but they’d also get a quality backup center — and possible successor — for the 31-year-old Dwight Howard in Nurkic. Don’t forget, the Bosnian Bear was putting up impressive numbers before Jokic reasserted himself as the team’s best center.

Faried’s deal expires after the 2018-19 season, which would allow Atlanta to continue treading this odd path between rebuilding and contending, while Nurkic doesn’t back down from anyone at only 22 years old.

The Hawks might prefer a wing like Gallo or Ill Will instead, and there are a lot of alternate possibilities. Will Barton could be dangled to free up minutes for Jamal Murray, or perhaps the Hawks would inquire about Murray instead of Nurkic.

In any case, the Nuggets have plenty of pieces that could facilitate a Millsap deal, which is why they should be considered one of the top contenders if they are in fact interested in him.

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