Report: Pacers discuss Jeff Teague trade with Hawks, 'dangle' George Hill
The Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks reportedly discussed a trade involving George Hill and Jeff Teague.
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The Atlanta Hawks have been actively shopping Jeff Teague since January and it is beginning to seem very likely that they will be trading away their starting point guard. Adding to these rumors and reports, Teague has even recently deleted all Hawks related pictures (expect his profile photo), from his Instagram account. But where will Teague get traded to is still up in the air.
A number of different teams have been linked to Teague. The Utah Jazz were reportedly open to trading for him but no deal was ever made. The New York Knicks were also interested in the Hawks point guard and talked with Atlanta about a potential deal. Now the latest teams linked to Teague are the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic.
According to ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz and Brian Windhorst, the Pacers and Magic have talked with the Hawks about trading for Teague. The Pacers have reportedly "dangled" point guard George Hill in their trade discussions with Atlanta:
The Hawks have been gauging the market for point guard Teague, who has started 345 games for Atlanta over the past four and a half seasons. Sources say the Indiana Pacers have made inquiries and have dangled guard George Hill as a possible swap. The Magic are also potential suitors for Teague, sources confirmed.
Teague is from Indianapolis, so you would think he would welcome the trade to play in front his hometown. However, this seems like a strange deal for the Hawks to make.
Both Teague and Hill are similar players -- although the Pacers guard is a better 3-point shooter -- and make the same amount of money. They will also both be free agents in 2017. Plus, Atlanta is interested in trading Teague because it believes that Dennis Schroder can be the starting point guard. Why trade Teague for another starting-level point guard, just to have him come off the bench?
The Magic trade angle may make more sense for the Hawks. Orlando may be able to offer up an assest like a future draft pick that Atlanta may covet more, but this is all still in the exploratory stages at this point.
Atlanta may decide to keep Teague, especially since it could potentially rise in the standings and become a top-3 team in the East. Or if they remain in the middle of the pack, the Hawks could give the point guard position to Schroder and trade away Teague as they transition away from the team that was the No. 2 seed in the East only a year ago.
