Wednesday morning’s news that the Atlanta Hawks are open to trading point guard Jeff Teague came as a bit of a surprise, even though they do have a potential in-house replacement in Dennis Schroder. Among possible teams with interest, including the specifically mentioned Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz, the New York Knicks have emerged as the top suitor for Teague.
According to the New York Post, the Knicks and Hawks have had “preliminary discussions” regarding Teague. That backs up prior reports, most specifically from Ian Begley of ESPN New York.com, that the two teams have discussed a deal involving Teague.
The Knicks need point guard help, but at first glance it seems they lack tradable assets that would appeal to the Hawks. If the Hawks still want to contend this year, which it has been reported they do, trading Teague looks like something that would hamper that effort.
Teague is having a bit of a down year across the board, averaging 14.3 points, 5.5 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game while making less than 42 percent of his shots from the floor. An 11-game stretch to start January stands out as a low-point (10.5 points and 4.3 assists per game, 38.3 percent from the floor), which Teague blamed on an ankle injury, but he has rebounded a bit with 28 points and 12 assists over the last two games.
With their apparent willingness to take trade offers, and multiple teams possibly in the mix, the Hawks may be too far down the road not to move Teague before next month’s trade deadline. But they would be selling low right now while putting a ton of faith in Schroder, and even in a relatively putrid Eastern Conference, trading Teague would hamper Atlanta’s hopes for a deep playoff run.
