Atlanta Hawks: Breaking Down the Millsap Trade Rumors

The Atlanta Hawks are currently fielding trade offers for three players: Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, and Thabo Sefolosha, with rumors greatly targeting Millsap. Amidst all of the speculation, will the All-Star power forward remain True to Atlanta?

Atlanta Hawks power forward Paul Millsap, who will be a free agent next summer, has been at the forefront of trade rumors since the Hawks recently began speaking with other teams about him as well as other players on the roster, including Kyle Korver and Thabo Sefolosha. With the upcoming Feb. 23 NBA trade deadline, is there any substance to the rumors circulating around Millsap?

One of the main teams who have expressed prior interest in Millsap is the Toronto Raptors, who hope the addition of a power forward like Millsap would help them close the gap on the Cleveland Cavaliers. So the Hawks have begun listening to trade pitches for their All-Star forward, but according to Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN, “Some rival teams have expressed concern to ESPN.com that the Hawks want so much in return for Millsap that it makes a trade unlikely before the deadline.”

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According to Millsap himself, he wants to remain in Atlanta. But as of Wednesday, the talks concerning Millsap advanced to the point where Atlanta Hawks Coach Mike Budenholzer felt the need to have a one on one talk with him. Millsap told Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that while they sat down and talked, the main focus is on winning games right now.

VIA Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

"For his part, Millsap wants to stay in Atlanta.“Rumors are rumors,” Millsap said Tuesday before the Hawks departed for a four-game road trip. “I think we know that. Been down this road before. I think we talked at the beginning of the year that it wasn’t going to be the first or the last time. It is what it is. Whatever happens, I think everybody knows where my heart is and where I want to be. But we’ll see what happens. The only thing I can worry about and I can do is to go out there and play my butt off every night and try to get wins for this team.”And his heart would be here?“That would be here, yes,” he said."

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This season with the Atlanta Hawks, Millsap is averaging 17.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. He will turn 32 on Feb. 10, almost two weeks before the trade deadline.

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