Jeff Teague or Dennis Schroder?
At some point — perhaps as early as this summer — the Hawks will need to choose their starting point guard for next season. There will be roster and salary implications when the decision is finally made.
Teague is entering the final year of his contract with the Hawks, the last on a four-year, $32 million deal after he signed an offer sheet with the Bucks in 2013. Teague has been the Hawks starter for the better part of five seasons. Schroder is eligible for a contract extension on his rookie deal after he was the 17th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. In several games this season, he played down the stretch in games in place of Teague, including the entire fourth quarter of the playoff-elimination loss to the Cavaliers.
There are officials from other teams in the league that believe the Hawks can’t go into next season with the same setup of Teague starting and Schroder coming off the bench. However, that remains an option. Hawks president of basketball operations and coach Mike Budenholzer and general manager Wes Wilcox likely will have many conversations in the next few months on the issue.
“We value both Jeff and Dennis,” Budenholzer said this week during the Hawks’ exit interviews. “They have both been incredibly good for us. Part of the reason we have had success is we have had two really good point guards. I am not ready to say anything other than how much we love them both. They are a big part of why we have been successful.”
There were moments this season when Teague, an All-Star last season, was not happy watching from the bench as Schroder finished games. The guard never was publicly vocal about his displeasure when Budenholzer stayed with the hot hand in the final minutes of games. Recently, Schroder played all but a minute of the fourth quarter, on his way to 27 points, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Cavaliers. He also played the final 17 minutes, in a 21-point effort, in Game 4. Schroder did get benched for two games this season for an issue with Budenholzer.
Concerning next season, the players had this to say:
“I don’t know,” Teague said in his brief exit interview. “That is up to the coaches or whoever runs the team, whatever they do. … I have always been a starter. I would love to be a starter.”
“In the future, I want to be a starting point guard,” Schroder said. “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 fielded many offers for Teague, who turns 28 next month, at the trade deadline in February. They ultimately decided to stay with their starter for the playoff run. While the Hawks had a high asking price at the deadline, an All-Star caliber point guard with an $8 million salary and expiring contract could be a tradable asset this summer. That is, if the Hawks believe Schroder is ready to take over.
Schroder, who will turn 23 in September, will make $2.7 million next season and has a qualifying offer of $3.8 million in 2017-18.
Teague averaged 15.7 points and 5.9 assists in 28.5 minutes during the regular season. He said he summer plans include getting healthy. When asked what bothered him this season, he said “Knees. Ankles.” He didn’t believe either would require offseason surgery. Teague missed three games early in the season with a left ankle sprain, but turned his ankle several times following the missed games.
“He is kind of, for lack of a better word, managing his knee,” Budenholzer said. “I don’t know if it is knees and ankles. I would say it is hard to know what he shares and what he doesn’t. I think he was relatively healthy, and he was so good so many nights, and he is such a good player. I do think he was managing a little bit like a lot of NBA guys do.”
Schroder averaged 11.0 points and 4.4 assists in 20.3 minutes during the season. He said he will again play for the German National Team this summer in an attempt to qualify for the European Championships. Schroder has credited his starting role for Germany the past two summers for much of his growth. He also said his plans include another trip to California to work on his shooting with Kyle Korver.
“It shows that Coach trusts me,” Schroder said about his late-game experiences. “I finished a lot of games. I think it’s big-time for me to see that Coach trusts me like that and the players like Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Kyle. I made it really far from my first year when I didn’t play.”
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