Paul Millsap is ready for his role among star-studded Brooklyn Nets lineup
Paul Millsap of the Brooklyn Nets poses for a portrait during Media Day at Barclays Center on Sept. 27, 2021. Credit: Getty Images/Al Bello
There’s no question Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have been a talent magnet since signing with the Nets in 2019. Last season, their presence led to a midseason trade for James Harden and lured free agents Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge.
And less than a month before training camp opened this season, the Nets added free agent Paul Millsap to a stellar cast.
Millsap has been a four-time All-Star with the Jazz, Hawks and Nuggets, but as he enters his 16th NBA season at the age of 36, he understands his role might be diminished. He started only 36 of the 56 games played for the Nuggets last season after starting 660 of 674 games played the previous 10 seasons.
Asked on Media Day last Monday about making the transition from frontline star to role player, Millsap wasn’t quite ready to concede to Father Time. "I still see myself as a really good player," Millsap said. "I’m not going to take that away from myself. I think when you get older, you learn what a real team is about and what your role is on that team.
"This team is not going to need me to go out there and go to work on the block and score 15, 20 points. I understand that. Knowing my role on this team is going to be big and crucial, and everybody knowing their role is going to be big and crucial to winning."
Over his career, Millsap has averaged 13.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 34.3% from three-point range as a power forward, but he never has won a title. So the opportunity to join the Nets’ star-studded cast was the deciding factor in leaving Denver.
"It was a tough and long process for me," Millsap said. "It was a decision I made based off winning now and trying to win a championship this year. I feel like with the pieces we have, it definitely is possible.
"There were other options out there. None that I felt fitted what I wanted to accomplish and just the big picture of things. Having a coach like Steve Nash and having players like we have in our locker room, I felt like it met every criteria I was looking for."
Millsap might well prove to be the Nets’ "X factor" because of the frontcourt depth he adds. If Griffin and Durant start at center and power forward, Aldridge and Millsap could back them up.
It’s also possible Durant could move to small forward, forcing Joe Harris to the second unit. In that case, the other frontcourt starters would be Aldridge and Griffin backed by Nic Claxton and Millsap.
Millsap said he expected questions about his role to be answered in training camp this week in San Diego before Sunday's preseason opener against the Lakers in Los Angeles.
"Whatever the situations were last year, me being a new guy, trying to come in and help build off that, I’m excited by it," Millsap said. There’s a lot to learn. There is unfinished business, and I want to be a part of helping finish that business."
Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.