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NBA Trade Grades: Teague To Pacers, Hill To Jazz In 3-Team Deal

By Gerald Bourguet

Feb 5, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) defends Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague (0) in the first quarter at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) defends Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague (0) in the first quarter at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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NBA Trade Grades
Apr 22, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer talks with guard Dennis Schroder (17) during a break in the action against the Boston Celtics during the third quarter in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

Atlanta Hawks

For the Atlanta Hawks, this deal comes with some very obvious pros and cons. With Teague entering the final year of his contract and failing to build upon his All-Star season in 2014-15, it makes some sense the Hawks would be willing to move on from their starting point guard.

Teague fell apart against the Cavaliers in the playoffs for the second year in a row, his fourth quarter minutes were frequently auctioned off to Dennis Schroder and with Al Horford and Kent Bazemore hitting free agency this summer, getting Teague’s $8 million off the books frees up a ton of extra cap room that could be useful in re-signing them or finding their replacements.

With all that available cap space, it’s possible the Hawks could bring back Horford and Baze to keep the gang together…but if that’s the end goal, downgrading from Teague to the streaky, inexperienced Dennis Schroder isn’t going to help Atlanta get past that Cavs roadblock.

Another possibility? Atlanta is positioning itself for a rebuild, which would begin the moment Horford signed elsewhere — if indeed he did sign elsewhere, since Horford has persistently said he wants to return to the Hawks.

According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Hawks will be looking to deal their two first-round picks in this year’s draft to help make that happen:

But if Horford does give the indication that he’s leaving, Atlanta will have shipped out Teague, promoted the 22-year-old Schroder into the starting job, lost Horford, possibly lost Bazemore, garnered the No. 12 and No. 21 picks in the draft, and have around $40 million in cap space for future moves.

Handing the reins over to Schroder is a calculated, inevitable gamble. He’s going to take his lumps as the starting point guard, and this move certainly won’t help Atlanta advance further into the playoffs, but the Hawks may be better off for it in the long run.

Either way Atlanta is positioned for the future, though it remains to be seen what kind of future that is.

Grade: B

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