Jeff Teague Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bucks Talk With Pelicans About Monroe, Eye Teague

February 17th, 2016 at 10:43am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 10:43am: Teams that have called the Bucks about Monroe aren’t gaining traction in talks, according to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt, who heard from one source who said no chance exists that the big man will end up in a trade. At least one other source also told Zillgitt that Monroe won’t be traded.

5:08pm: New Orleans and Milwaukee have had only exploratory talks, sources tell John Reid of The Times Picayune, who nonetheless hears from league sources that Monroe, a New Orleans native, would prefer to play for his hometown Pelicans.

TUESDAY, 8:58am: The Bucks have had a dialogue with the Pelicans about Greg Monroe and are one of a handful of teams that have been “kicking the tires on” Hawks point guard Jeff Teague, reports Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. Monroe is obtainable if a team gives Milwaukee a “decent” first-round pick, according to Lowe, but the Pelicans have been reluctant to part with their 2016 first-rounder even if protection for the top few picks is involved, sources tell Lowe. New Orleans has dealt its first-round pick three years in a row.

New Orleans is keen on pairing Anthony Davis with a “bruiser” up front, but opposing teams are confused about whether whether executive vice president of basketball operations Mickey Loomis or GM Dell Demps has control over the front office, Lowe hears. Loomis has been exerting greater control lately, but executives from other teams told Ken Berger of CBSSports.com recently that they believe that’s only a temporary situation, with former Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars a strong candidate to take over the Pelicans front office.

A confused narrative exists about whether the Bucks would give up Monroe. Fellow ESPN scribes Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst reported Monday that the offseason signee wasn’t available, conflicting with an initial report from Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times that he could be had for the right offer. Both reports agreed that the team was open to dealing Michael Carter-Williams, and the team is unconvinced that he’s the long-term answer at point guard, league sources tell Lowe. Thus, Milwaukee joins a group of suitors for Teague that various reports say includes the Jazz, Knicks, Pacers, Celtics, Sixers and Magic. I touched on what then only appeared to be speculation about Milwaukee and Teague as I examined the point guard’s trade candidacy last month.

Heat Notes: Dragic, Bosh, Trade Targets

February 17th, 2016 at 9:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Heat not surprisingly have interest in soon-to-be free agent Mike Conley, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald passes along via Dan Le Batard of ESPN Radio, and Miami is open to hearing offers for Goran Dragic, Jackson writes. However, the Heat are in no hurry to trade their point guard. The Heat like Jeff Teague and Al Horford, but Miami would need to find a third team to involve in a deal to get Atlanta the assets it wants for them, according to Jackson. DeMarcus Cousins and Jahlil Okafor have also held appeal to Miami, at least as of earlier this season, a source who has spoken with the Heat told Jackson. Moreover, the Heat want to further reduce their luxury tax bill and add a shooter, and they’re continuing to try to make the playoffs despite the health scare for Chris Bosh, who has an encouraging prognosis for his long-term health once his latest blood clot issue is resolved, Jackson reports.

See more from Miami:

The most likely course of action regarding Bosh’s health would probably knock him out for three months, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, though agent Henry Thomas told Winderman that it’s too soon to know what will happen.
The Heat probably wouldn’t benefit from missing the playoffs as much as they did last year when they snagged the No. 10 pick and Justise Winslow, making Bosh’s situation potentially devastating for the franchise, contends Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. Miami’s first-round pick is again top-10 protected, but lottery and draft-night luck played in the Heat’s favor last year.
Jackson lists Mirza Teletovic, Jerryd Bayless and Wayne Ellington as “options” for the Heat as they look for a shooter, though it’s not entirely clear whether the Heat are indeed interested in them.

Jazz Have External Trade Talk About Trey Burke

February 16th, 2016 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Jazz have held multiple discussions with other teams about trades involving Trey Burke, league sources tell Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Still, the Jazz aren’t in line to acquire fellow point guard Jeff Teague from the Hawks, Jones tweets, despite an earlier report that they were thinking about pursuing him. Utah rejected an offer from the Hawks of Teague for Rodney Hood and a draft pick, according to Spencer Checketts of 1280 The Zone radio in Salt Lake City (Twitter link).

Jazz coach Quin Snyder has praised Burke for his defense, Jones notes, and the No. 9 overall pick is shooting a career best 42.3% from the floor and 34.7% from 3-point range. Still, his minutes are at a career-low 23.6 per game, down significantly from the 30.1 he saw last season, even though he seemed to be first in line to start when Dante Exum went down with a torn ACL in the summer. The Jazz have gone with rookie Raul Neto as the starter instead and often employed lineups with three wing players instead of a point guard.

Burke, the No. 9 pick from the 2013 draft, is making more than $2.658MM this season in year three of his four-year rookie scale contract. He’ll be up for an extension this summer.

Jones speculates that George Hill, whom the Pacers have reportedly dangled in talks with Atlanta about Teague, would be a strong fit for the Jazz, and that he’d be obtainable if Utah has interest (Twitter links). The Tribune scribe believes that an offer of Burke and the unprotected 2017 first-round pick the Warriors owe the Jazz would be reasonable in exchange for Hill. Still, it’s unclear whether any connection exists between the Jazz and Pacers on that front.

Knicks Offer To Attach O’Quinn To Calderon Trades

February 16th, 2016 at 8:31am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 8:31am: New York is seeking rotation players on expiring deals for Calderon and O’Quinn, sources tell Zach Lowe of ESPN.com.

MONDAY, 3:06pm: The Knicks are offering Kyle O’Quinn to potential trade partners as they seek to offload Jose Calderon, report Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. New York harbors a strong desire for Jeff Teague, Stein and Windhorst write, with the Knicks having reportedly spoken with Atlanta about Teague last month, but it’s unclear if O’Quinn and Calderon have been a part of any talks between the Knicks and Hawks.

Trade rumors have surrounded Calderon since he underwhelmed following a 2014 trade that sent him from Dallas to New York, and he’s making close to $7.403MM this year on a contract that runs through next season. O’Quinn sees $3.75MM this year on a four-year deal worth about $16.013MM that he inked just this past summer as part of a sign-and-trade with the Magic.

O’Quinn’s role has shrunk in recent weeks, as he’s averaged only 7.3 minutes per game since the calendar turned to 2016. He’d seen 13.8 minutes a night prior to that, a rate of playing time that was still reduced from his final two seasons with the Magic.

Nets Interested In Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap

February 11th, 2016 at 4:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nets have reached out to the Hawks regarding power forward Paul Millsap and point guard Jeff Teague, Alan Hahn of ESPN Radio and MSG Network told the Michael Kay Radio show (h/t NetsDaily). Brooklyn is said to “covet” Teague, who would fill a major void at point guard for the franchise, Hahn noted. Pulling off a trade for either player will be difficult, as the Hawks’ asking price for Teague is reportedly “extremely high” and the Nets are slim on tradeable assets. Plus, Brooklyn is still without a GM heading into All-Star week, though the team has reportedly indicated that it wants to hire someone by the February 18th trade deadline.

Teague has been generating quite a bit of interest as the deadline approaches. Orlando and Atlanta have reportedly spoken about a potential trade involving Victor Oladipo and Teague, with the Hawks seeking an equal exchange of talent that helps them get younger. This would be a tall order for Brooklyn to fill given the state of its roster. Also in the mix for the point guard are the Jazz, Knicks, Pacers, Celtics and Sixers. Teague is making $8MM this year and is set for the same next season on the four-year offer sheet he signed with Milwaukee in 2013, which Atlanta matched in order to retain his services. In 52 appearances this season, Teague is averaging 15.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists on 43.2% shooting.

Millsap’s name hasn’t been popping up in trade rumors for the Hawks, with most of the chatter around Atlanta focusing on Teague and center Al Horford. The 31-year-old is earning $18,671,659 this season and is inked for two more seasons beyond this one. Millsap is scheduled to pull down $20,072,033 in 2016/17 and possesses a player option worth $21,472,407 for the 2017/18 campaign. In 54 contests this season, Millsap has notched averages of 17.7 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

Southeast Notes: Griffin, Harris, Teague

February 10th, 2016 at 4:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Magic were one of several teams to reach out to the Clippers about trading for Blake Griffin, reports Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who writes in his NBA AM piece. They didn’t get very far, but a serious discussion nonetheless took place about the idea of sending three Magic players, including Tobias Harris, to L.A., sources told Kyler. The Sixers and Nuggets also reportedly spoke with the Clippers, who nonetheless aren’t interested in trading their star power forward, at least this season.

Here’s the latest from the Southeast Division:

Orlando has reportedly expressed some degree of willingness to trade Harris, but the team would have to be blown away to pull the trigger on any deal involving the combo forward, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN relays (on Twitter). Harris re-signed with the Magic for four years and $64MM in July.
The Sixers have contacted the Hawks to gauge the availability of point guards Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Philadelphia hasn’t made a trade offer yet and appears unlikely to make a serious push for either playmaker, according to Pompey’s sources. The players on the Sixers with the highest trade value are Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor, but the team doesn’t want to deal either big man away until the health status of Joel Embiid is clearer, which isn’t likely to be until the offseason, Pompey adds.
The consensus among the teams that have contacted the Hawks regarding Teague and Al Horford is that any deal involving the duo would likely be a deadline day one, Chris Mannix of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports tweets. Atlanta’s asking price for either player is extremely high, which complicates any potential trade, Mannix adds.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Magic, Hawks Talk Victor Oladipo, Jeff Teague Swap

February 10th, 2016 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic and Hawks have spoken about a potential trade involving Victor Oladipo and Jeff Teague, a league source said to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Orlando is also among the teams interested in Al Horford, though nothing significant exists on that front yet, reports Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). The Magic are reportedly open to just about any proposal that would add experience to their team, while the Hawks have apparently been talking to several teams about Teague and want an equal exchange of talent that helps them get younger. Oladipo, 23, is four years younger than Teague is.

A trade involving Oladipo and Teague would require the Magic to throw in at least a minimum-salary player to make the salaries match, since Teague’s $8MM pay is more than 150% plus $100K of the nearly $5.193MM that Oladipo is making on his rookie scale contract this year. Oladipo, who’s eligible an extension this summer, returned to the starting lineup for the Magic last month after coach Scott Skiles benched him in late November. Most of the numbers for the former No. 2 overall pick are holding steady, apart from his scoring average, which has dipped to 14.3 points per game from 17.9 last season in large measure because he’s seeing only 12.5 shots per game after taking 15.1 a night last year.

Teague has been playing well of late and is nailing a career-high 40.9% of his 3-point looks, a key number for a Magic squad that has spacing issues. However, his assists are down to 5.4 per game, his fewest since 2011/12, and that doesn’t correspond to any significant increase in ball distribution from backup Dennis Schroder, whose assists per game are up only slightly, to 4.5 from 4.1 last season. It’s unclear how the Magic would reckon with Teague and fellow point guard Elfrid Payton on the same roster.

Plenty of other teams have been linked to Teague. The Pacers have dangled George Hill in talks with Atlanta involving Teague, as Kevin Arnovitz and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported Monday. The Knicks have reportedly engaged in preliminary discussions with Atlanta about Teague, though it appears those talks didn’t go anywhere. The Celtics have reportedly contacted the Hawks about Teague and Horford, and while it doesn’t look like the Jazz have reached out, it seems Utah has at least considered the possibility of a run at the Atlanta point guard.

Arnovitz and Windhorst first identified the Magic as a potential suitor for Teague and also hinted that they had interest in Horford, a soon-to-be free agent whom the Hawks aren’t entirely sure is worthy of a five-year max contract, as the ESPN scribes detailed. Orlando reportedly has at least some degree of willingness to trade Tobias Harris, who is six years younger than Horford, but it’s unclear if Horford and Harris have come up in the discussion between Atlanta and Orlando.

Which team would benefit the most from a swap involving Teague and Oladipo? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Pacers Offer George Hill For Jeff Teague

February 9th, 2016 at 2:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pacers have inquired with the Hawks about trading for Jeff Teague, proposing a swap involving George Hill, while the Magic also loom as a potential suitor for Teague, sources told Kevin Arnovitz and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. It’s unclear how receptive Atlanta has been to the Pacers idea, nor what the Magic would be willing to give, though Orlando has reportedly become at least somewhat willing to trade Tobias Harris and is on the lookout for veterans. The Hawks wouldn’t be seeking a sell-off if they decide to make moves before the deadline and instead would look for deals that bring back younger players who provide equal value for the present, sources close to the team tell the ESPN scribes. Hill, 29, is two years older than Teague, though Hill has played off the ball in the past, which would ostensibly make him a better fit next to emerging Hawks point guard Dennis Schröder.

The Hawks are meanwhile thinking “long and hard” about their future with Al Horford, who’s poised for unrestricted free agency this summer. The prospect of a five-year max deal, which would pay a 34-year-old Horford an estimated $32.7MM in the final season, is giving the Hawks pause, sources said to Arnovitz and Windhorst. The Celtics have reportedly gauged Atlanta’s interest in trading both Horford and Teague, while the Pistons have been linked to Horford. Arnovitz and Windhorst write that several teams would “potentially” show interest in Horford if the Hawks put him on the block, and in the next sentence they name the Celtics, Nuggets and Magic as the teams that have been the most aggressive in efforts to land a “veteran difference maker.” It’s thus unclear if Denver and Orlando are indeed mulling runs at Horford.

Complicating the idea of a Horford trade is an injury to center Tiago Splitter. The former Spur is considering surgery on a lingering hip ailment and will be out for an “extended period” even if he doesn’t have a procedure, Arnovitz and Windhorst write. Plus, Hawks coach/executive Mike Budenholzer views Horford and Kyle Korver as locker room mainstays, the ESPN scribes note. The Cavs are fond of Korver, as Windhorst said in a radio appearance earlier today, but he isn’t the likeliest among the Hawks to end up in a trade, Arnovitz and Windhorst write.

More Fallout From The Derek Fisher Firing

February 8th, 2016 at 10:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

The firing of Derek Fisher may not be the last major move the Knicks make before the February 18th trade deadline, writes Ian Begley of ESPN.com. League sources told Begley that members of the New York front office talked to the Hawks last month about point guards Jeff Teague and Dennis Schröder, but little progress was made because Atlanta didn’t like what the Knicks had to offer. That advances earlier dispatches about the Knicks and Teague, but the inclusion of Schröder is a previously unreported part of the story. Begley also hears that the Knicks have been keeping an eye on Pistons reserve point guard Brandon Jennings. With New York dropping nine of its last 10 games and in danger of sliding out of the Eastern Conference playoff race, team president Phil Jackson hopes to shake up the roster. Two players almost certain to stay put are Carmelo Anthony and rookie Kristaps Porzingis. “I think it is a known fact that Carmelo has a no-trade [clause],” Jackson said. “And we like Kris. Everybody likes Kris. There’s not too many people that ever would say that I would trade [Kristaps].”

There’s more from a news-filled day in New York:

Ex-Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, who served eight seasons as an assistant in New York, makes no secret of how badly he wants the Knicks job, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Thibodeau “would walk here” to coach the Knicks, a source told Zagoria, echoing what Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com heard earlier. Jackson was non-committal about Thibodeau, saying, “I respect Tom as a coach, he’s a really good coach. But I’m not out soliciting coaches right now.”
A lack of development and a feeling of stagnation doomed Fisher, writes Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. At 23-31, the Knicks have already surpassed their 17-win season of a year ago, but the front office believed the team wasn’t progressing as it should. Marks expects Jackson to pick a coach from his pool of former players and current assistants, but notes Luke Walton is the only member of that group to have success as a head coach.
The pairing of Fisher and Jackson never had a chance to work, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. He contends Jackson didn’t really believe in Fisher as a head coach, and Fisher, who moved straight to the job from the playing floor, was never committed to coaching. The Knicks were counting on hiring Steve Kerr in 2014, Deveney recalls, believing that Stan Van Gundy would wind up in Golden State. Fisher became a fallback plan when that unraveled.

Knicks Rumors: Conley, Grant, Jackson, Fisher

February 6th, 2016 at 9:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks may dream of adding point guard Mike Conley in free agency, but it won’t be easy to sell him on leaving Memphis, writes Anthony Rieber of Newsday. Conley sparked the hopes of fans in New York and other cities with a comment that “everything will be on the table” when he becomes a free agent this summer. But the hurdles for the Knicks are much higher than that statement makes them appear. Start with finances. The Grizzlies can offer Conley a five-year max deal starting at a projected $25MM with annual raises up to 7.5%. Other teams can match $25MM for the first year, but are limited to four-year deals with 4.5% increases.

Then there’s the matter of loyalty. Conley has been with Memphis for his entire nine-year career and has strong ties to the organization. In New York for a game Friday, Conley denied having a “pact” with Marc Gasol to stay in Memphis, but suggested his free agency could go the same way his teammate’s did last summer. “We’ve grown up together in this league, me and Marc, and with the Grizzlies,” he said. “We don’t know anything different. So just like he did last year, it’s something I’m going to wait and talk about later, because at the end of the day, it is a business and anything can happen. But obviously, they know how I feel about Marc and my teammates here.”

There’s more news out of New York:

Conley would be a nice solution for the Knicks if they don’t trade for Atlanta’s Jeff Teague first, according to George Willis of The New York Post. He notes that point guard has been a problem area in New York for a couple of decades and says first-round pick Jerian Grant has been a disappointment so far.
Knicks president Phil Jackson is doing a disservice to coach Derek Fisher by not talking to the media, contends Marc Berman of The New York Post. Jackson hasn’t made a public comment on the team since late September, leaving Fisher to take the heat for the team’s current 1-8 slide. Berman argues that the Knicks’ failures are the result of Jackson assembling a fragile roster and says the best strategy would be to clear some cap space by the February 18th trade deadline.