The NBA offseason is well underway for the majority of the teams in the league. NBA free agency is right around the corner with teams able to start reaching out to players come July 1. One of those players that will be open to changing teams appears to be veteran forward Paul Millsap of the Atlanta Hawks.
According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, Millsap will be opting out of his deal with the Hawks to test free agency this summer:
Atlanta Hawks All-Star forward Paul Millsap has opted out of his $21.4 million contract for next season to become a free agent, league sources told The Vertical.
Millsap is coming off arguably the best season of his NBA career. The 32-year-old forward has come into his own since joining the Hawks back in 2013. He was an All-Star in all four seasons in Atlanta and averaged a career-best 18.1 points per game during the 2016-17 campaign while also 7.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per contest.
Although Millsap is on the wrong side of 30 heading into free agency, he continues to play at a high level and will certainly get his fair share of phone calls once officially a free agent in July.
As for the Los Angeles Lakers, there’s a chance to the team could reach out to Millsap to see if he wants a change of scenery. He has been linked to the purple and gold before and could be courted by Magic Johnson and company if they believe he’s a right fit in the frontcourt.
Johnson has stated that the team does want to preserve cap space for the 2018 free agent class which includes Paul George, but if the team decides to make a trade or two that stance could change.