Paul Millsap said he has yet to decide whether he will opt out of the final year of his contract with the Hawks this summer.
The three-time All-Star power forward has a player option for the 2017-18 season worth $21,472,407. It would seem likely that Millsap will opt out and become an unrestricted free agent based on an increase in the NBA salary cap. However, Millsap said he will see how this season plays out before making up his mind.
“I haven’t decided anything, no,” Millsap told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday.
Millsap, 31, was an unrestricted free agent in 2015 and decided to return to the Hawks with a three-year, $59 million contract that included the player option. He is scheduled to make $20,072,033 this season.
Last week Raptors All-Star guard Kyle Lowry said he would opt out of the final year of his contract worth $12 million and become an unrestricted free agent.
Retaining Millsap is a priority, according to according a person in the Hawks organization. The Hawks did discuss possible trades involving Millsap during the summer as they juggled the signing of Dwight Howard and the free agency of Al Horford.
Millsap was the Hawks best player over the past two seasons. He averaged 17.1 points, nine rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.7 blocks in 32.7 minutes in 81 games last season.
“I think the plan is to see how this season goes and go from there,” Millsap said. “I can’t predict what is going to happen. For me, it’s focus on basketball. Get through this year, try to get a championship for this team first of all. We’ll deal with all that during the summer time when we have all our options on the table.”
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