New York Knicks Attempting To Trade For Jeff Teague?

The New York Knicks Phil Jackson is reportedly in talks with the Atlanta Hawks to trade for star Jeff Teague.

According to ESPN’s Ian Begley, the New York Knicks are at least in trade discussions with the Atlanta Hawks in regards to Atlanta’s star point guard Jeff Teague.

Fans and analysts have agreed throughout this season that while the 22-25 Knicks have some nice pieces in Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, the lack of a true starting point guard is keeping them from being legitimate contenders in the surprisingly tough Eastern Conference. Much of that is due to New York’s current starter, Jose Calderon.

While Calderon has been a beacon of health, starting all 47 games for the Knicks, he hasn’t been good enough to give New York what it needs from the point guard. Oddly, Calderon hasn’t been terrible by the numbers. The 34-year-old has shot 47.5 percent from the field and 41.1 percent behind the arc (both of which lead the Knicks backcourt) while dropping 7.5 points and dishing out 4.1 assists per game. Those aren’t flashy numbers, but the Spaniard has been solid and consistent for the streaky Knicks.

With that in mind, this team needs just a bit more from their point guard. While Calderon has been fun to watch at times, his inability to get to the rim and create offense from the outside has been a constant struggle for Derek Fisher‘s team, seeing as they don’t have any real slashers anywhere else on the roster. Of his 284 field goal attempts, Calderon has shot just 30 times at the rim.

Now, enter Jeff Teague.

At just 27 years of age, Teague has entered his name into the top tier of NBA point guards, a tough task with this being the golden age of the position. This year has been something of a down year for Teague, but he’s still managed to shoot 41 percent (down from his career average of 44.6 percent) while dropping 14.3 points and 5.6 assists per game (down from his average of 7.0 over the last three seasons). The core difference is the style that Teague plays.

Unlike Calderon, Teague’s game is based off of getting to the rim and finishing. Of his 513 field goal attempts thus far, 38 percent of them have come at the basket. On those shot attempts, he’s making 51 percent. The man simply has a pop to him that Calderon doesn’t and with the Knicks constantly discussing how they want to get out in transition and speed up their offense, Teague would be a perfect point guard to do that.

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So yes, Teague would be a nice fit in New York. With him, a playoff spot would likely be almost guaranteed this year for the Knicks, who currently sit only two games out of the eighth seed. If the transition works well enough, it wouldn’t be too shocking to see this team win a series come spring.

The problem is that the Knicks simply don’t have a whole bunch to offer here.

While the other point guards the Knicks have been interested in have had some question marks around them, Teague is legitimately one of the league’s top backcourt threats offensively and with multiple teams interested in his services, there’s likely to be a relatively high asking price.

After the untouchable Kristaps Porzingis is Carmelo Anthony — whose magnificent season and willingness to become a more team-centered player would seem to kill any rumors about him leaving. Then there’s Arron Afflalo, who has been a nice fit for the Knicks, and Robin Lopez who has a relatively large contract and doesn’t particularly fill the Hawks need of a wing. The Knicks bench has some nice pieces but nobody jumps out at you after Langston Galloway and Jerian Grant, both of which seem to be big pieces of the Knicks future.

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Simply put, New York doesn’t have a lot of flexibility in this deal and team president Phil Jackson will likely be forced to get creative if he wants to make something happen.

With Teague currently signed through next season, the deal would also impact the Knicks cap space for this offseason. While he’s as talented as they come, Phil would likely have to sacrifice someone like RoLo — whose replacement would lead to either Kyle O’Quinn or Kevin Seraphin in the starting lineup — or a bunch of draft picks to get something done. While the Knicks have some nice pieces in place, this is still a team in the midst of a rebuilding process and if there’s one thing basketball fans in New York know, it’s that you don’t want to deal away all of your picks.

The Knicks might be a player away and Jeff Teague appears to be a perfect player to fill that void, but New York must weigh its options before risking such a big move. I’ve said all season that this team should wait until the offseason to try and add a point guard through free agency and I continue that now. This team is simply to0 delicate right now to make anything this big happen.