Jeff Teague is going home.
The Hawks have agreed to trade their point guard to the Pacers, according to a person familiar with the situation. The details of the deal are still being finalized but an agreement is in place for Teague. For salary-cap purposes, the trade will be completed following the NBA’s moratorium in July.
When the deal is finalized, the Hawks are expected to receive the Jazz’s No. 12 slot in Thursday night’s NBA draft in the exchange, according to Yahoo. Indiana point guard George Hill will be shipped to Utah, the Indianapolis Star confirmed. According to the person familiar with the situation, the Hawks could also make another one-on-one trade with either team with other assets involved.
If the Hawks have acquired the No. 12 pick, more dealing could be forthcoming. The Hawks also have the No. 21 overall pick and two second-round picks Thursday.
As previously reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Hawks were likely to trade one of their point guards, either Teague or Dennis Schroder. Teague was the most likely to be moved as he enters the final year of his contract at $8 million. Schroder is eligible for an extension of his rookie deal next month.
Teague’s relationship with the organization became strained earlier this month when he sent and later deleted a post on social media with the information that he played at least part of last season with a torn patella tendon. His post was accompanied by the hashtag #theywontsaythatpart.
Teague is from Indiana and played at Pike High School in Indianapolis. After playing collegiately at Wake Forest, the Hawks selected Teague in the first round, No. 19 overall, of the 2009 draft.
Teague was the second-longest tenured Hawks player, behind only Al Horford, after completing his seventh season. The Hawks have made the playoffs each of his years with the Hawks and Teague was named an Eastern Conference All-Star reserve in 2015. It was his first trip to the midseason exhibition.
Teague had been a model of health during his NBA career before his self-reported injury last season. He appeared in 79 games during the past regular season, including 78 starts. He missed the three games with an ankle sprain. Teague averaged 15.7 points and 5.9 assists last season. The numbers were down slightly from the 15.9 points and 7.0 assists he averaged two seasons ago when he was named to the all-star team.
For his career, Teague averaged 12.1 points and 5.2 assists in 26.1 minutes over 518 regular-season games. He also appeared in 62 playoff games, including 51 starts, and averaged 13.3 points and 4.7 assists.
Teague wanted to leave the Hawks in 2013 when he signed a four-year, $32 million offer sheet with the Bucks. However, the Hawks matched the offer.
Teague clearly was not happy with the way the season ended this year. He did not play the entire fourth quarter of the Hawks’ Game 4 season-ending loss to the Cavaliers, 100-99. He also sat the entire fourth quarter of the Game 2 loss in the series. In both instances, Schroder played down the stretch.
Teague asked about his potential role with the Hawks next season during an exit interview in May.
“I have always been a starter, I would love to be a starter,” he said.
Schroder appeared in 80 games for the Hawks last season, his third with the team. He averaged 11.0 points, 4.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 2.3 turnovers in 20.3 minutes.
It appears the starting point guard position now belongs to Schroder.
“In the future, I want to be a starting point guard,” Schroder said at his exit interview. “Everybody knows it. But I’m in the situation I was this year, I was fine with it. I played my minutes and I just tried to get better. When the coaching staff and everybody decides I get the team, I’m going to be ready for it.”
The Hawks will need to add at least another point guard before next season. Rookie Lamar Patterson is the only other player on the current roster who could play point guard on a regular basis.
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