Jeff Teague is now a member of the Indiana Pacers because his contract expires a year from now and the Atlanta Hawks have been grooming his replacement, Dennis Schröder, for a few seasons. In an interview with The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski, Teague revealed that he knew the Hawks were ready to move on and he thought he and Schröder could have played more together:
"I knew that it was coming to an end," Teague, 28, told The Vertical. "I could feel it. I knew they were going into a different direction and could tell it wasn't with me. But I accepted it."
Eventually, Teague's minutes started to shrink as Schroder, the young, explosive point guard started to earn a greater role.
"I would say that it made the year harder," Teague said. "I felt like we could've played more together, that we could've been a really dynamic two guys who could shoot and penetrate and do it all. But it became a tug-of-war based on who was playing better.
Things deteriorated quickly for Teague in Atlanta. In 2014-15, the Hawks' 60-win dream season, he was named an All-Star along with teammates Al Horford, Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver. He followed that up by having his minutes cut to 28.5 per game, and Schröder was given more opportunities despite never matching Teague's efficiency. Teague also played through a knee injury, which explains why he took a step back defensively.
Atlanta took a risk by trading Teague and promoting Schröder, but the writing has been on the wall for some time. Last October, Schröder said that he wanted to be a starter or he'd have to look elsewhere. In February, there were rumors that the Utah Jazz and the Pacers were interested in acquiring him. When the Hawks kept him through the trade deadline, it was news, and he seemed like an obvious target heading into this offseason. If this was clear to everybody on the outside, then of course Teague knew what was going on.
Fortunately for Teague, he now finds himself on his hometown team and in a pretty good situation. The jury is out on Indiana's interesting offseason -- the front office acquired Teague, Thaddeus Young and Al Jefferson, but lost George Hill, Ian Mahinmi and Solomon Hill -- but it has committed to putting the ball in Teague's hands and playing fast. Do not be surprised if he has a career year.
