PORTLAND, Ore. — The Trail Blazers signed restricted free- agent forward Paul Millsap to an offer sheet Friday.
The Jazz has seven days to match the offer. The terms were not disclosed by the Blazers because of team policy.
Millsap averaged 13.5 points for the Jazz last season, getting double-doubles in 19 straight games while starting for Carlos Boozer, and has career averages of 9.4 points and 6.4 rebounds since the Jazz selected him with the No. 47 pick in the 2006 draft.
The Jazz already has high salaries committed to a number of players for next season, including Boozer. He was expected to opt out of his contract and become a free agent, but declined the option and Utah owes him $12.7 million. Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur all will earn at least $9 million, meaning the Jazz could be well over the salary cap if it matches the offer to Millsap.
The Trail Blazers were $7.7 million under the salary cap after the NBA set it at $57.7 million for next season. The salary cap is determined by a percentage of league revenue from the previous season.
reported Friday that Portland’s offer to Millsap was for four years and up to $36 million.
Should the deal go through, the 6-foot-8 Millsap could back up Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge.
Asked whether the team had reservations about spending money on a bench player, general manager Kevin Pritchard said Thursday: “I’m a big believer in that you get the best player.”
Last week, the Blazers showed interest in free-agent forward Hedo Turkoglu, but talks crumbled.
The announcement concerning Millsap capped an eventful day for the Trail Blazers.
First came word that draft pick Patty Mills had broken his foot Thursday night during a practice for the NBA’s summer league. He was scheduled for surgery on Monday.
After starring for Australia in the Beijing Olympics and for Saint Mary’s in college, the 6-foot point guard was selected by the Blazers with the 55th overall pick in the draft.
Footnotes.
The Mavericks announced the signing of Jason Kidd, five days after owner Mark Cuban confirmed the free-agent point guard was returning.
Kidd agreed to a three-year contract worth more than $25 million. The nine-time all-star is third on the NBA’s career list in assists (10,199) and triple-doubles (103). Kidd has averaged 13.8 points, 9.2 assists and 6.7 rebounds in 15 NBA seasons.
• First-round draft pick Jordan Hill signed with the Knicks.
The 6-foot-10, 235-pound Hill averaged 18.3 points and 11.0 rebounds in his junior year with Arizona last season.
• The Thunder signed three players, including guard James Harden, the third pick in the draft who was a first- team All-American at Arizona State.
