Paul Millsap agrees to contract with Hawks

The Orlando Magic made the Atlanta Hawks sweat it out.

But ultimately, the Hawks situation was too good for Millsap to pass up. Millsap considered Orlando's four-year, $80 million offer but took Atlanta's three-year, $59 million deal, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told USA TODAY Sports.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the moratorium on free agent signings is July 9.

The 6-8 power forward is a nine-year veteran and averaged 16.7 points and 7.8 rebounds for a Hawks team that won 60 games last season.

The Hawks lost DeMarre Carroll to the Toronto Raptors on the first day of free agency but also acquired Tiago Splitter from the San Antonio Spurs and re-signed Millsap, a key player in Atlanta's franchise-best 60 wins last season.

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Millsap has a player option on his third season, and he and his agent worked collaboratively with the Hawks to get the deal done.

Two summers ago, Millsap passed up a four-year deal with Atlanta and signed a two-year deal so he could have a chance at one more big deal when he was 30 years old. He had two productive seasons with the Hawks, and it paid off for him.