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The Denver Nuggets have been in pursuit of an All-Star caliber forward this offseason, with rumors linking them to Blake Griffin, Kevin Love and of course Paul Millsap. The first two are off the table but the last one is still in play, and it looks like the Nuggets might be in the home stretch of the chase.
First, the rumor hit that the Phoenix Suns were dropping out:
Suns indeed abruptly ended pursuit of Paul Millsap, who they were enthusiastic about last night. Price point too high. Helps Minny, Denver.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 1, 2017
Then, Denver’s pitch team solidified, and included a surprising, budding star:
Sources: Along with Josh Kroenke, Tim Connelly and Michael Malone, emerging talent Gary Harris joining Paul Millsap pitch in Atlanta today.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2017
And most recently there’s the rumor from David Aldridge that the Nuggets might have cornered the Millsap market:
Hearing MIN also may be out of Millsap talks, clearing the way for possible resolution w/Denver, meeting w/him tonight. Would be great fit.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 1, 2017
The Nuggets have been in the Millsap market since at least last summer, when there were rumors that the Nuggets would trade Kenneth Faried for him. That fell apart when Al Horford went to the Boston Celtics instead of staying with the Atlanta Hawks, but the Nuggets might have found the experienced All-Star forward with skills on both ends of the floor to play next to star center Nikola Jokic.
Signing Millsap would be both a boon to Denver’s hopes in the near future as well as a way to keep him out of Minnesota, thereby hurting an ascending rival as well. No word yet on price or length of any proposed contract, nor whether it would include a sign-and-trade to help clear up the current roster confusion.
Stay tuned for further developments.