Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
After failing to come to a contract agreement prior to the season, Jeff Teague‘s play this year should prompt the Atlanta Hawks to offer him a competitive contract during free agency this summer.
Teague spent his first couple years after being drafted 19th overall in 2009 on the bench behind veteran point guard Mike Bibby before getting his opportunity to start for the Hawks last season, and he made the most of it. Teague responded to being given the keys to Atlanta’s point guard position by averaging 12.6 points and 4.9 assists while appearing in all 66 games, all statistics that are decent for a first year starter.
But this season after watching other point guards from his draft class get contract extensions Teague has taken his game to a higher level and increased his stats across the board to 14.6 points, seven assists and even improved his outside shooting to be more consistent.
Teague may not get a contract in the same range that Ty Lawson, Stephen Curry or Jrue Holiday all received prior to the season but he should at lease garner an offer somewhere in the $5-7 million range, if not from Hawks than some other team in need of a point guard.
Teague has shown enough potential and improvement over his first four seasons to give the Hawks confidence that he can be their lead guard of the future. Atlanta will have a revised roster next season with the inevitable departure of Josh Smith, and they should keep Jeff Teague around to keep some type of stability going forward.
