There are rumors that Atlanta Hawks power forward Paul Millsap could leave the team next summer as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Millsap, 31, is entering the second year of his three-year, $60.2 million deal with the Hawks which will earn him $20 million this season. He has the choice to opt out of the final year worth $21.4 million next summer and test the free-agency market.
From his most recent comments, the three-time NBA All-Star is still unsure of his future, which means there is a possibility he can choose to become a free agent and make himself open for bidding next year.
"I think the plan is to see how this season goes and go from there," said Millsap, as per ESPN. "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."
Earlier reports in the summer have said that Atlanta is keen on keeping the 10-year veteran especially after his frontcourt partner, Al Horford, was snagged by the Boston Celtics in free-agency this summer. However, speculated moves by the Hawks this offseason indicated that the team is open to trading Millsap if the right opportunity and package comes.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that "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".
Atlanta did not find any deal particularly interesting and so they moved ahead and kept Millsap, who is currently recuperating from a knee procedure he had last month.
Millsap is already allowed by doctors to participate in full-contact drills on the court as his rehabilitation is said to be going according to plan.
"It's been good," Millsap said. "We don't know what's going to happen after today, but every other day it's felt great - running on the treadmill, getting some shots up, individual workouts. We'll see what happens."
Millsap is entering his fourth season with the Hawks. He started his career with the Utah Jazz when the team selected him 47th overall in 2006.