Tony Ressler says Hawks will make ‘every effort’ to keep Paul Millsap, per report

Paul Millsap will be one of the biggest free agent names available this summer but Atlanta Hawks owner Tony Ressler says that the club will make “every effort imaginable” to keep him according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Chris Vivlamore.

Ressler sat down for an exclusive interview with the AJC on Friday and gave insight on the inner workings of the Hawks front office. The Hawks have been clear in their intentions in regards to Millsap since early January when they pulled him off the trade market and informed him that he wouldn’t be dealt before the February trade deadline.

Millsap is under contract for next season at just over $21 million but that deal contains a player option and he will almost certainly opt out. As a 10-year player, Millsap is eligible for a max deal of 35 percent of the salary cap per the NBA’s new CBA. Such a deal would contain an estimated starting salary of $35.7 million.

Millsap turned 32 this season and there are no guarantees that he is going to receive a max offer from any team much less the Hawks. But Atlanta does retain his bird rights and can offer him a more lucrative contract than any other team.

So nothing really has changed. Atlanta’s offseason begins and ends with Paul Millsap.