All-star Paul Millsap likely to opt out of Hawks contract

ATLANTA — Four-time All-Star forward Paul Millsap said that he “probably will opt out” of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent after the Atlanta Hawks were bounced from the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Millsap has a $21.4 million option for next season, but likely will make more in a new long-term deal should he become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

“I think we all know the answer to do that,” Millsap told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution when asked directly about his intention. “… Eventually I probably will opt out, yes. But I want to be here. I think talks have been pretty good, so we’ll see what happens.”

Hawks principal owner Tony Ressler told the newspaper last week that team will make “every effort imaginable” to keep the 32-year-old Millsap, who averaged a team-leading 18.1 points and 34.0 minutes to go along with 7.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.30 steals and 0.9 blocks

Mike Budenholzer, the coach and head of basketball operations, echoed that sentiment.

“You always want to hope for the best,” Budenholzer said. “Without a doubt what is best for us is to keep Paul. We’ve got to do everything we can to make that happen. I think that is our intention. Free agency is not an easy thing for the player or for the organization. There are a lot of things that go into it. We are incredibly optimistic and incredibly committed to Paul.”

Atlanta has also been burned by the initial returns of signing forward Kent Bazemore to a four-year, $70 million deal and center Dwight Howard to a three-year, $70.5 million pact.

Bazemore, 27, averaged just 9.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in Atlanta’s first-round series loss to Washington.

The 31-year-old Howard added 8.0 points and 10.7 rebounds, but found himself on the bench for the entire fourth quarter of the Hawks’ 115-99 series-ending loss to the Wizards on Friday night.