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2017 NBA free agency: 5 best signings of the summer

By Nate Wolf

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MAY 6: Gordon Hayward #20 of the Utah Jazz plays defense against Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors in Game Three of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2017 NBA Playoffs on May 6, 2017 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MAY 6: Gordon Hayward #20 of the Utah Jazz plays defense against Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors in Game Three of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2017 NBA Playoffs on May 6, 2017 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images /

4. Paul Millsap, Denver Nuggets: 3 years, $90 million

The Denver Nuggets finished ninth in the Western Conference last season, narrowly missing the playoffs in a promising campaign. Nikola Jokic emerged as a superstar at center, while Gary Harris and Jamal Murray showed upside as a sharpshooting backcourt.

Since Jokic, Harris, and Murray are all on thrifty rookie deals, Denver general manager Tim Connelly had nearly $38 million in cap space this summer. The plan was clearly to spend, and the Nuggets went big.

The signing of Paul Millsap may be the most important in franchise history. For one, Denver is no longer a free agency backwaters. But more importantly, Millsap is a legitimate top-30 player who will accelerate the Nuggets’ development and push them up the Western Conference ladder.

Offensively, the fit works. Head coach Mike Malone runs one of the league’s most creative offenses. Jokic – maybe the best passing center of his generation – facilitates from the elbow, surrounded by players just as likely to hit an eyeball three as they are to backcut for a dunk.

Millsap is one of the most mobile bigs in the league, and should thrive as a screener and cutter in Denver’s Jokic-centric system.

There will be growing pains. Millsap also prefers to work from the elbows, where he’s a dynamic triple-threat player. That’s valuable, though. Teams need multiple guys who can get buckets when regular actions get clogged up.

The real growth comes on defense, however. The Nuggets leaked points at the second-worst rate in the league last year, but Millsap immediately helps. He made the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2015-16, and wasn’t far away this past year. Overall, he’s a smart and scrappy defender at all levels of the floor.

Financially, this deal is pricey yet worth the cost. Millsap is 32 and on the backend of his prime, so inking him to three years instead of four is ideal. The $30 million average annual bill is huge, but it doesn’t handcuff Denver’s front office.

Even with Millsap, the Nuggets could realistically open up $40 million in cap space next summer – more if they shed Kenneth Faried’s deal. Even if this signing could result in a huge payroll once Jokic signs a max, it could also result in a contender come 2018-19. It really is the Wild West.