2017 NBA free agency grades: Denver Nuggets land Paul Millsap

After a disappointing draft night, the Denver Nuggets finally found a star via free agency. They’ve agreed to terms with their top target and four-time All-Star, Paul Millsap.

The Denver Nuggets and their fans have been waiting to land a marquee free agent for a long time. Those fans were pleased to see a tweet from The Vertical‘s Shams Charania on Sunday night, reporting that Paul Millsap had agreed to terms on three-year deal worth $90 million.

The pressure was building on the Nuggets front office to make some sort of move. Rumors broke of potential draft night trades that would have sent either Jimmy Butler, Eric Bledsoe or Kevin Love to the Nuggets. The first two reportedly through fell through despite promising negotiations. And of course, the Love deal fell apart when Indiana inexplicably shipped Paul George to Oklahoma City.

But late on Sunday, news broke that they had landed their top target in free agency. After a disappointing draft night, president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly, and newly minted general manager, Aruturas Karnisovas, have engineered an excellent deal for Denver.

Paul Millsap is a four-time All-Star and a player whose value is best appreciated through the eye test rather than combing through box scores. Make no mistake, the stats are good: Millsap averages 14.2 points per game on 49.3 percent from the field in his career, while pulling down 7.5 rebounds as well. In his last season of play, his scoring jumped all the way up to 18.1 points per game.

But Millsap is a hustle guy through and through, one with a high basketball IQ and a tendency to be in the right place at the right time on both ends of the court. Often times, he contributed more to his team’s victory than the numbers would indicate.

His effort and IQ have helped make him one of the better defenders in basketball. Millsap is only 6’8″, but he has the strength to hold his own down low. His size actually works to his advantage, as it provides him with tons of versatility as a defender.

When Millsap first touches the floor as a Denver Nugget, he’ll become the best defensive player in their starting rotation. The Nuggets were the league’s second-worst defense in the 2016-17 season. Improving on that end of the floor was of the upmost importance this summer, and this signing does exactly that.

Despite the big leap in Millsap’s scoring numbers this past year, he’s never really been the focal point of a dynamic offense. That will change in Denver. The Nuggets posses one of the premier half court offenses in all of basketball. They move the ball well, they space the floor well, and they find and hit good shots. After Dec. 15, no team scored more points per 100 possessions.

Denver’s best player, and passer, happens to be Millsap’s new partner in Denver’s frontcourt. Nikola Jokic is known for his superb passing ability, and he does his best work from the high post. That should open up plenty of space for Millsap to do his work down low. An offense of this nature is sure to provide him with more good looks than he’s seen to date in his 11-season career.

The real win here is the length and structure of the contract. It was expected that signing Millsap would require a four-year max deal, one with a disturbing price tag. The breakdown of such a deal was downright terrifying, as Millsap would be turning 36 by the final year.

Three years, $90 million is an exceptional deal, and according to Matt Moore of CBS.com, it comes with a team option in the third year. This is due to the late and unexpected change in leverage during this negotiations.

Initially, the Nuggets were pegged as co-frontrunners in this race along with Phoenix and Minnesota. But the Suns dropped out of the negotiations, and the Timberwolves used their remaining cap space on Taj Gibson.

The Nuggets were able to avoid that dreaded mega-deal and the fans will undoubtedly be pleased with the front office.

If there’s any downside here it’s this: signing Millsap makes a Danilo Gallinari return unlikely, leaving the Nuggets with no true small forward in their starting rotation. Wilson Chandler will likely assume the duties assuming no further moves are made. But he’s not a long-term solution at the 3.

Then there’s the problem of the overcrowded roster. After signing Paul Millsap, the Nuggets find themselves with seven players who are viable options at the 4. Seven. They also have four point guards, and a dire need for cleaning up this roster. More moves will be made.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far

This is an excellent contract, though it doesn’t unclog the Nuggets roster, and in truth, it only improves this team so much. The West is as competitive as ever, and Denver will have to fight to make the playoffs let alone compete for a title. The signing should be lauded, and it will have a positive impact, but the expectations should be tempered.

Grade: A-