Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports
I must confess to a strange obsession. Over the course of many years, I had held out hope that one of these days, Paul Millsap will sign with the Nets.
Millsap happens to be a free agent again, so you can guess where my head’s at.
I know, it seems foolish now that Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden call Brooklyn home. Millsap is a four-time All-Star, but most have always viewed him as a complementary player and now, at age 36, he is clearly on the downside of his career.
So, let me explain: This little incongruity stems from my frustrations of having to watch a parade of inept power forwards for many years bumble their way on the Barclays Center court. These short-lived experiences often ended with the player jettisoned out of the league. If any of them could defend and rebound, they couldn’t shoot straight. If they could space the floor, they were woefully undersized. In some cases (Rondae Hollis-Jefferson), they had neither positive attribute.
It’s not like the Nets never had opportunities to pitch Millsap—he was a free agent several times in the Sean Marks era. I would then talk myself into, “Well, there’s all these reports that he’s tight with (former Nets coach) Kenny Atkinson,” so maybe there’s a chance.
It turned out it was the one-in-a-million type of chance that the Jim Carrey character had with Lauren Holly in “Dumb and Dumber.” For Millsap, the situations and cash were always better elsewhere. Who could blame him?
Of course, we’re at it again this offseason, as Millsap is considered by many to be the most impactful free agent remaining on the market, even though he failed to average double digits in points for the first time in 13 years last season for the Nuggets. Still, I believe he is a really good fit here.
Maybe not perfectly, since Millsap’s game is not all that similar to the man he’d need to replace—versatile forward Jeff Green, who left, ironically, for Denver in free agency two weeks ago. Green is more skilled, shooting nearly 7% higher from three-point ranges than Millsap last season and showing off a significantly higher level of athleticism in driving closeouts (fans will never forget all the times Green attempted to kill would-be defenders and bring down the basket with his ferocious dunks). Millsap, meanwhile, is a superior rebounder and defender, with 20 extra pounds of bulk.
What adding Millsap would do, however, is allow Nets coach Steve Nash to stay flexible in his lineup options like he was able to do with Green. The Nets could go to a big grouping, with a frontcourt of KD, Millsap, and a more traditional 5 like Blake Griffin, Nicolas Claxton, or DeAndre Jordan. Or they could go small, with 3 guards, KD and Millsap.
The reason it can work with Millsap, as opposed to, say, James Johnson, is that Millsap’s drop to 34.3% shooting from deep last season is almost entirely the result of his going cold from above the break—he went 14-for-30 (46.7%) from the corners, where Green was stationed on 109 attempts (converting 44%). For the record, Johnson was a putrid 12-for-52 (23%) on corner 3s. And if you’re wondering whether last season’s corner efficiency was an outlier, Millsap was a 43.5% three-point shooter overall in 2019-20, including 44.4% from the corners.
More importantly, whereas Green typically sports a defensive rebounding percentage around 11%, Millsap is usually in the high teens, including 16.7% last season. Given that the Nets were 23rd in defensive rebounding percentage and 5 second chances points allowed away from finishing last in that category, you’d figure that grabbing Millsap would be more of a priority on this win-now team than using a roster slot on another developmental player, or even Alize Johnson, whose contract isn’t yet guaranteed.
Unfortunately, the ball appears to be out of Brooklyn’s hands. Millsap seems to be holding out for some team to offer him all or part of a mid-level exception ($5.9 million for those teams above the luxury tax threshold), whereas all the Nets have in their arsenal is the veteran’s minimum of about $2.6 million, having used their MLE on guard Patty Mills.
Millsap has been “most linked” to the Warriors, though their GM Bob Myers went on the record two weeks ago saying that he didn’t anticipate green-lighting the added $30 million in luxury taxes for any of the remaining free agents.
If Golden State doesn’t cave, Millsap has other suitors, including Philadelphia, New Orleans, Minnesota, and his old stomping grounds of Atlanta, according to Bleacher Report.
That particular story did have an interesting nugget in that Millsap is said to be seeking a “crystalized role on a team with deep playoff aspirations.”
Hello? Is that not the Nets?
Brooklyn may have the most prolific offense ever assembled (the 117.3 points per 100 possessions they scored last season set a league record—and that’s with The Big 3 playing just 7-plus games together), but that’s never been enough to win a championship. Defense and rebounding were problematic all last season and figure to be again given the new configuration. Millsap is exactly the type of savvy veteran that would prove to be immensely helpful in doing the dirty work necessary to win tough games in the postseason.
I don’t understand those on social media who don’t get this. How important was P.J. Tucker in the Bucks’ title run? Yes, the odds suggested that Brooklyn would have beaten Milwaukee in the second round had injuries not rendered Harden immobile and knocked out Irving in Game 4. However, if the goal is always an NBA Championship, could the Nets have withstood challenges from other big teams had they been at full strength as well? What if the Lakers throw out a front line that includes LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Dwight Howard in a theoretical NBA Finals matchup with Brooklyn? How would the Nets match up?
KD should be on his phone giving Millsap his best recruiting pitch, telling him that Brooklyn will give him his best opportunity to not just grab a ring, but to be an integral part of the process. Some have drawn comparisons to David West, Durant’s aging teammate in Golden State who gave the Warriors about a dozen solid minutes per game on those championship clubs.
Millsap-to-Brooklyn always made sense to me, but alas, maybe it was never meant to be.
"What if the Lakers throw out a front line that includes LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Dwight Howard in a theoretical NBA Finals matchup with Brooklyn? How would the Nets match up?"
Steve! The way I see it, if players like Jokic, Embiid, Ayton, Vucevic, and even Jarrett Allen are true Centers, then Dwight Howard alone will prove impossible to solve because DeAndre is seemingly unplayable and Day'Ron Sharpe is too inexperienced.
What about Claxton, Blake, James Johnson, and Alize?!
Claxton, Blake, and James Johnson are truly Power-Forwards with Clax being the best option to guard Anthony Davis. Millsap would be the 3rd option after (I predict) Claxton and Blake to play the 4.
The real issue, as you've addressed numerous times in the past, is the lack of good options at Center. My dream scenario: Sean Marks brings back Jarrett Allen in a trade that sends Joe Harris and whatever else necessary to Cleveland. Imagine a front-court of Allen, Claxton, AND Kevin Durant!
I wouldn't mind Myles Turner either, who spaces the floor and blocks shots very well. Hopefully, Marks figures out the championship combination. It doesn't involve more Guards and declining Power-Forwards in which coaches hide at Center to score more points while avoiding a basic responsibility on defense - securing the rebound.
If we didn't have Blake and Johnson, Millsap would be okay. We need Centers: one to start and one to play backup. If DeAndre is truly unplayable, then Sean Marks is asleep at the wheel. Sharpe may play sooner than later. Will Nash trust him in the Playoffs? I doubt it.
#InMarksWeTrust