The Atlanta Hawks currently sit in the third spot in the Eastern Conference with their 27-19 record but it is pretty clear that they are not as good as they were a year ago. There are plenty of factors as to why they seem to have taken a step back but the biggest one might be Jeff Teague's play. The Hawks are still a very good team but Teague has taken a step back so far this season and now the Hawks are discussing possibly trading him, according to Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports.
The report states that the Hawks have been discussing possible deals with teams involving Teague. It is also being reported that the Hawks had been "soliciting offers" for both Teague and Dennis Schroder but more recently they have turned the majority of their attention towards Teague. The idea that the Hawks may trade Teague likely means that they feel comfortable moving forward with Schroder as the starting point guard.
Monetarily it makes sense for the Hawks to go with Schroder as the starter moving forward as he is still on his rookie deal and will be through next year. Also, recently the on-court play has gone in Schroder's favor too and it has led some to wonder whether Schroder should take Teague's starting spot anyway. Teague is in the third year of his four year $8 million deal with the Hawks meaning he is signed through next season but will become a free agent in the summer of 2017.
Because of his contract situation and the fact that he was an All-Star just last season Teague will likely garner plenty of trade interest. Aside from Mike Conley, who is fully expected to stay in Memphis, the free agent point guard market this summer is also expected to be weak so team's may look to bolster that position this trade deadline and Teague is a great option.
A few of the teams that might have interest in trading for Teague are the Milwaukee Bucks and the Utah Jazz, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN. Milwaukee showed interest in Teague a few years ago when they hit him with an offer sheet as a restricted free agent and Utah has had their issues with point guard play this season. It will be interesting to see how serious Atlanta is about trading Teague because it seems very likely that they will have plenty of suitors. Despite Teague's regression this season he will still likely garner a nice package for Atlanta so we will have to see if they are ready to blow up their core right now.
