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Among the many things that the 2020-21 campaign told us about the Nets, their viability as a landing spot for past-their-prime veterans was certainly toward the top of the list. Blake Griffin thrived in Brooklyn after struggling with the Detroit Pistons, and LaMarcus Aldridge was a reliable force inside before a health scare prompted him to retire.
Could Paul Millsap be next?
It remains to be seen. But as of now, the Nets aren’t leading the sweepstakes for the services of the four-time All-Star. That distinction belongs to another top contender, the Golden State Warriors, according to a report this week by Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer.
Still, it’s clear the Nets have Millsap on their radar.
“Golden State has been the team most often linked by league sources to Paul Millsap, arguably the most consequential free agent left,” Fischer wrote. “Yet while the 36-year-old former All-Star has drawn interest from the Warriors, Hawks, Nets, Pelicans, 76ers and Timberwolves, no team sources contacted by Bleacher Report indicated any contract agreement with Millsap has come close to the finish line.”
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Millsap Would Be a Valuable Role Player for Brooklyn
Millsap is well past his prime at this point, but he’s the type of role player that the title-hopeful Nets could deploy late in important games and feel confident about.
The 6-foot-7 forward has averaged 13.7 points and 7.2 rebounds over 1,052 games in his NBA career, but averaged only 9.0 and 4.7 in 20.8 minutes per game last season for the Denver Nuggets. Still, his prowess as a defender is intact; last season, he registered 1.1 blocks and 1.6 steals per 36 minutes.
Fischer added this analysis in his piece for Bleacher Report:
Millsap could very well end up being this year’s Nic Batum, a skilled mercenary who rounds out a playoff unit’s starting lineup or top of their rotation in a reduced role. He has fans across the league, but Millsap’s conversations with teams this summer have revolved around salary figures at or near the $5.9 million tax-payer mid-level exception, sources said.
“I think he’s gonna be a minimum or a midseason guy,” said one veteran front office voice. “What’s the rush? The money wouldn’t get much better, and he can just pick his team. What if New Orleans is really good come January? What happens when some guy gets hurt, and that team starts scrambling for a replacement? He can pick his spot.”
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JJ Redick Taking His Time
Another big-name free agent, JJ Redick, appears to be taking a similar approach this offseason.
The 37-year-old sharpshooter has frequently been linked to the Nets over the past year – he lives in Brooklyn with his family, after all – but seems to be in no rush to make a decision about where he spends his 2021-22 season.
“My focus right now is just hanging with my family and enjoying the offseason,” Redick said recently on his podcast, The Old Man and The Three. “And we’ll make a decision on next season—what team, what city, etc.—probably sometime in the next two or three months. But, you know, I would say, pretty much definitively, like, I won’t be in a training camp to start the season. That’s not gonna happen. So, you know, I’ll join a team at some point this season and finish the year and try to go get a chip.”
According to Fischer, it could be Brooklyn (or New York) or bust for Redick.
“Redick’s apparent desire to land with the Knicks and the Nets has long circulated in the NBA,” Fischer wrote. “Several executives have even speculated the veteran could retire if he does not come to terms with either franchise. Yet there likely will be other suitors interested in adding Redick’s bench shooting come January as well. “I would bring him on,” one Western Conference head coach told B/R. “He can go anywhere and provide value.”
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