The three-way trade that sent Jeff Teague to Indiana earlier this offseason came as a bit of a surprise, but Teague himself wasn’t totally caught off guard by the deal. As he tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, Teague had been informed by the Hawks that an offseason trade may be in the cards.
“Me and the Hawks talked a bit and we agreed to be open with each other and try to help each other facilitate a nice deal,” Teague said. “So I knew it was coming [eventually], but I didn’t know when. When I got the news, Coach Bud let me know that he would be trading me home. It was bittersweet, but I’m excited about a new start and a new opportunity.”
Here’s more from around the Southeast division:
- Hawks assistant general manager Michael Blackstone is leaving his role with the team after spending just one season in Atlanta, several sources tell Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Blackstone had been responsible for managing contract and trade negotiations, among other duties. As Vivlamore notes, the Hawks recently promoted former director of scouting Jeff Peterson to an assistant GM role.
- In his latest mailbag for The South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman examines the Heat‘s backcourt logjam and speculates about whether or not Miami would be interested in Larry Sanders.
- Keely Diven of CSNMidAtlantic.com passes along some of the noteworthy comments from a recent appearance Wizards head coach Scott Brooks made on Chris Mannix’s podcast for The Vertical. Brooks discussed the similarities between John Wall and Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal‘s health, and his plan for Washington’s young players.