Paul Millsap of the Atlanta Hawks reacts to the referees during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Philips Arena on December 5, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo : Getty Images/Kevin C. Cox)
The Toronto Raptors is one team that's being pushed on the edge to make a trade but they may have to find other options.
It was rumored before that the Raptors are focused on Paul Millsap as the top target and with good reason. Millsap is a legitimate top 20 player and he could easily make the Raptors a contender.
The only problem is that the Atlanta Hawks suddenly had a change of heart regarding their players. When Kyle Korver was traded to the Cavaliers, it seemed inevitable that the rest of the veterans would also follow. But the Hawks relented (just the Cavaliers' luck that their Eastern rivals didn't get to benefit from Atlanta's supposed fire sale and they did).
According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the Hawks, despite doubts cast by most pundits, are intent on keeping Millsap.
"Skepticism about Atlanta's recent insistence that Paul Millsap is completely off the market has been fairly rampant. The Hawks, however, are adamant that Millsap is staying put in the wake of the Kyle Korver-to-Cleveland deal in early January ... whether rival teams believe them or not," Stein reported.
The report continued. "The team abruptly changed course and told Millsap he should plan to play out the season with the team he's about to rep in his third successive All-Star Game, even if that means Atlanta risks losing the 32-year-old for nothing when Millsap hits free agency in July."
That's bad news for the team north of the border. Millsap would be the ideal candidate for them but the Hawks are likely to play the spoilers role.
The latest reports have the Raptors taking interest in a new prospect in Danilo Gallinari of the Denver Nuggets. Stein also mentioned that in his report.
"The Raptors and Clippers are among the teams said to be monitoring Gallinari's availability, amidst a growing belief that Denver is prepared to move him."
Gallinari is more of a small forward but in today's NBA, he could be play what is known to be a "stretch four." If the Hawks don't change their mind, Gallinari may be the Raptors' best alternative.
But as Bleacher Report points out, there is also a risk involved. "One of the big questions for Gallinari is the forward's health. He has been sidelined the past couple of weeks with a groin strain and has dealt with a variety of injuries throughout his career. Since being drafted in 2008, he has only twice played in more than 62 games in a season and he hasn't done that since 2012-13."
Injuries have haunted the Raptors franchise which is one of the reasons why they fell short of taking the East. They might be hesitant to trade for another injury prone player.
