Forward Paul Millsap will now be playing for the Denver Nuggets as he signed a three-year contract with the NBA team. The contract is worth $90 million.
Nugg Love reported that Millsap initially agreed to the contract verbally. The signing took place on Thursday to make things official and formal. The publication said that the forward will play alongside Nikola Jokic.
Paul Millsap could catapult Nuggets to Western Conference
With the roster that the Denver Nuggets have now, it is believed that they could make their way to the Western Conference playoffs, especially with Millsap playing for the team as he is a veteran on the court and he could teach a lot to the younger players in the Nuggets.
He said during the event set up for him in Denver when he signed his contract that he wants to make the job of the younger players easier. Millsap promised he will help these players become better. The other young players are Jamal Murray and Gary Harris.
Clutch Points also reported that the head coach of Denver Nuggets, Mike Malone, believes the player will affect the defense of the team greatly. Malone said that Millsap could help anchor their defense and help the other players understand which roles should they play while in court. Malone added that Millsap's experience will "help us tremendously.”
Millsap explains why he agreed to three-year deal with Nuggets
Millsap came from Denver and this had a lot to do with his decision to start playing for the team.
He said that his history with the area played a huge role as he felt like “it was an unfinished business here, being here years ago and leaving under the circumstances we left.” ESPN reported that Millsap and his mother were forced to leave the area as they wanted to look for greener pastures as they were struggling to make ends meet.
Millsap has three other brothers and they had to return to Louisiana because they had relatives there. He noted that when he went to Denver in 1988, he was crying because of shame, but now that he is back, he cried tears of joy and he can finally hold his head up high.
Millsap’s stats
Last season, Millsap averaged 18.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists, according to Fox Sports.
He played for the Atlanta Hawks for four seasons and helped the team reach the Eastern Conference. For all his 297 games with the Atlanta Hawks, he averaged 17.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.17 blocks, and 1.67 steals. When he was still with the Utah Jazz (for seven seasons), he averaged 12.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists.
Millsap will wear jersey #4 with Denver Nuggets.
