Atlanta Hawks Trade Rumors [Update]: Jeff Teague And Dennis Schroeder Made Available Via Trade, Team May Also Look To Deal Al Horford
The Atlanta Hawks have one of the best point guard combinations in starter Jeff Teague and backup Dennis Schroeder, but the team has recently solicited offers for both guards, according to Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports.
Hawks had been soliciting offers for Teague or Dennis Schroder, per rival execs. Though recently they have focused more on Teague.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) January 27, 2016
As Mannix stated in the tweet, the Hawks currently appear more inclined to focus on Teague, who is likely to garner more of a return in a trade than Schroeder. The New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, and Utah Jazz are among the possible destinations for the 27-year-old veteran.
In fact, Ian Begley of ESPN New York reports that the Knicks and Hawks have casually talked about a trade for a few days. It will be interesting if the Knicks, who have been looking for point guard help since the start of the season, will be able to pull off a trade as they don’t have many trade chips to offer and acquiring Teague could dampen their chances of offering a max contract to Kevin Durant this offseason.
Teague is making $8 million this year and is slated to make $8 million next year, which will be the final season of the four-year pact that he signed in 2013. The 2015 All-Star selection has seen his numbers slip a little this year as he is averaging 14.3 points along with 5.5 assists while shooting just 41.9 percent from the floor, though he has connected on a career-best 37.7 percent of his three-point attempts. He has only recorded three double-doubles and just one since Dec. 2.
Teague has struggled terribly since the new year as he has contributed 10.6 points and 4.8 assists in 25.8 minutes of action in 12 games. There may be a reason for the six-year down turn in production as he revealed to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he has been dealing with an ankle injury.
“I’m dealing with an ankle injury. That’s OK. I’ll be back.”
The Knicks have gone all season with Jose Calderon, Langston Galloway, and rookie Jerian Grant manning the point. Calderon is averaging 7.5 points and 4.1 assists along with 3.0 rebounds in 27.7 minutes of action. The 34-year-old assist/turnover percentage is not very good – his assist-to-turnover ratio (4-to-1) is excellent – and he is awful defensively.
Galloway has had his moments, but he, along with Grant, has struggled shooting the ball.
New York (22-25) has lost three straight and is sitting in 10th place in the Eastern Conference playoff race – two games behind the eighth spot.
So, what does New York have to offer Atlanta to pull off the trade.
Of course, the Knicks could dangle one of their three current point guards – Galloway would be the most appealing – in part of a package deal as well as small forward Lance Thomas, Kevin Seraphin, or Kyle O’Quinn. New York doesn’t have a first-round selection available to trade until 2018, but Arron Affalo or Derrick Williams could be intriguing with the Hawks still being in contention for a top playoff seed this year. Both Afflalo and Williams have player options for next year.
Update: Fred Kerber of the New York Post doesn’t believe Teague will likely not end up in New York.
It is kind of surprising that the Hawks would be willing to hand over the offensive reigns to their offense to Schroeder, especially since Zach Lowe of ESPN reported earlier this week that the team had “major trust issues” with the 22-year-old. However, Schroeder has improved his production this month and coach Mike Budenholzer had him out on the floor late in the game in close losses to Phoenix and Sacramento last week.
Schroeder is very quick and gets into the paint at will – over 45 percent of his shots are from the painted area (or about 40.4 percent of his points per game). He has increased his efficiency this year and has improved his defense as well.
Now, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports is reporting that Atlanta may also look to trade veteran forward Al Horford as the Hawks aren’t sure they will be able to re-sign him. The 30-year old will be an unrestricted free agent and is expected to be one of the most sought free agents. Kent Bazemore is the only other potential free agent for the Hawks.
Horford is currently second on the team in scoring and rebounding with 15.2 points and 7.1 boards per game. He is an excellent shooter and passer as well as quality defender.
Atlanta is leading the Southeast Division and is third in the Eastern Conference with a 27-20 record after falling to the Los Angeles Clippers 85-83 on Wednesday night. The Hawks, who are six games behind Cleveland for the top spot in the conference, are 5-5 in their last 10 contests and just four-and-a-half games ahead of 10th place Charlotte.
[AP Photo/Jon Barash]
