Paul Millsap‘s exit from the Atlanta Hawks and entrance into the Denver Nuggets organization is more than meets the eye — it goes beyond three years and $90 million, beyond a pairing with one of the most-talented centers in the league, for him — it's unfinished business.
Millsap and his mother, Bettye, left a suburb of Denver years ago, as she struggled to make ends meet — sometimes making $12 last for two days' worth of meals for Paul and his three brothers.
The versatile forward spent close to a dozen years there before returning to his birthplace, Louisiana, for high school and college.
“My history had a lot to play into [signing with Denver], actually,” Millsap told The Associated Press, touched by the band that greeted him, along with many children. “It felt like it was unfinished business here, being here years ago and leaving under the circumstances we left. To help this community out, this organization out, that played a big factor.”
The change from the last time his family was in town was a dramatic turnaround.
“When I came to Denver in 1988, I was crying all the way in shame and had my head down,” Bettye Millsap said. “When I came back this time, I cried tears of joy, and I could hold my head up.”
The 32-year-old is looking forward to working out some chemistry with last season's passing wizard at the center position, Nikola Jokic, who averaged a whisker shy of five assists per game as a pivot man.
“I'm looking for [Jokic] to make my job a little easier,” Millsap said jokingly. “And vice versa. I want to make his job easier. I want to help the younger guys around me become better players.”
Head coach Mike Malone couldn't help but get giddy at the thought of two talented ball-sharing big men playing alongside each other.
“We feel in Nikola and Paul, we have the most talented, most unselfish, best playmaking frontcourt in the NBA,” Malone said.
But for Millsap, this is all about finishing what he had once started and hopefully ending it in the best possible note.
“You don't want to leave something on a bad note and never return to it,” Millsap said. “To return in the situation we're in now as opposed to where we were, it's unbelievable. Hopefully, I can get out and help this community. Because without them, where would I be?”
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