Budenholzer: Paul Millsap ‘Not Going Anywhere’

Over the weekend, ESPN’s Marc Stein reported that the Hawks privately continued to insist that Paul Millsap won’t be traded this month. Head coach and president of basketball operations Mike Budenholzer reiterated that point publicly on Monday, telling Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution that Atlanta won’t be moving its star big man.

“He’s not going anywhere,” Budenholzer said. “You can write that.”

Around the time that the Hawks sent Kyle Korver to the Cavaliers, Millsap was believed to be available, and Vivlamore hears that one person close to the situation believes there was “at least one solid offer” on the table at the time. However, the team took Millsap off the trade block a little over a month ago, with the veteran center telling ESPN that the Hawks had assured him he wouldn’t be traded.

As I pointed out at the time, it was one thing for the Hawks to tell potential suitors that Millsap wasn’t available, but it was another for the team to tell the player himself that he won’t be moved — clubs will often change their minds about shopping a player, but breaking a specific promise to that player is much less common.

Although fans and writers have continued to speculate about a Millsap trade since then, the franchise has remained adamant that he’ll stay put, with Budenholzer’s comment today representing the latest reiteration of that stance.

Assuming the Hawks keep Millsap through the deadline, they’ll risk losing him this offseason like they lost Al Horford last summer. Millsap has a player option for 2017/18, but is expected to opt out, at which point he could sign with a new team or re-up with the Hawks. Presumably, the club is fairly confident that Millsap wants to remain in Atlanta, or a deadline deal would be more likely.