The Atlanta Hawks made a franchise record 60 wins, made it to the conference Finals for the first time in a while, and they had 0 star players. For a while it was truly great to see because, ball movement, rebounding and team basketball were the forefront of the Eastern Conference. In the Playoffs, they did not have the same attitude as they struggled and barely made it to the ECF. Now, they have some issues on their hand. Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll are unrestricted free agents, and they have tons of buyers. Millsap is an all-star Power Forward with the ability to stretch the floor and guard multiple positions and Carroll has created a perfect 3 + defense balance that has made him one of the key starters on the Hawks. The Knicks, Lakers, Mavericks, Rockets, and Celtics are all buyers and could be looking to sign one of the players.
According to Spencer Checketts, Millsap may be pursued by an old friend:
Just caught wind that the Jazz will actively pursue Hawks UFA PF Paul Millsap this off-season.
— Spencer Checketts (@1280Spence) June 12, 2015
Millsap played for the Jazz in their somewhat better days in the West as they made the Playoffs with Millsap and company, making the WCF too. Despite their success, the core of the Jazz broke up and Millsap is now an unrestricted free agent with the chance to go back. The Jazz team he would return to is a completely different team. Young players that are willing to play team basketball and win with defense. Something Millsap is used to in Atlanta.
With Gobert, Hayward, Favors, and Trey Burke, the Jazz have a good young nucleus to start a run for a West Playoff spot, but will Millsap even think about it? Moving to Utah is an unheard of thing. Let alone moving BACK to Utah. I doubt it will happen, and I personally doubt that the Hawks will let Millsap leave. There is really no reason for him to leave, as they broke records and have enough momentum to be able to build on their somewhat successful season. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks lost DeMarre Carroll, Kyle Korver, and did not have Thabo Sefelosha. It was a disaster trying to guard LeBron James, but with those guys in the lineup the series could have gone differently and we may have seen a different Finals matchup. If Millsap has patience and he’s insane, he would go back to Utah. If Millsap wants to win NOW he might want to consider his other options.
