Jeff Teague heads to Indianapolis to team up with an All-Star in Paul George while George Hill moves on to Utah in the first major trade of the 2016 offseason. Soon thereafter, the Bulls and Knicks struck a deal to send Derrick Rose to NYC as well.
Here to break down the two trades that Yahoo Sports broke on the day before the draft are Jon Elliot and Gabriel Allen.
Jon Elliot on the three-team trade- If this were a two-team deal between the Pacers and the Hawks, it would appear, on paper at least, to be the most even trade in the history of the NBA. Teague averaged 15.7 points, 5.9 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and a cool 40 percent from deep. Hill averaged 12.1 points, 3.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from deep. Jeff Teague is on an expiring deal for $8 million. George Hill is on an expiring deal for $8 million. See a pattern here?
The real advantage? Age. George Hill has just over two years on Teague, which makes this a possible advantage for Indiana. It could be noted that Teague very well could be a product of Budenholzer’s system, given that he’s posted 15 points per game only thrice in his career, all in the last three years since Mikey Mike took over the ATL Bunch. Either way, I think it’s a solid enough deal for Indiana, possibly giving them a slightly better, purer point guard for the future.
Utah is the real winner here. Immediately, the Jazz have filled out their starting lineup with a respectable group. Hill will join Rodney Hood, who took a very solid step forward in his sophomore campaign, along with Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, and Rudy Gobert. Talk about defense. Hill led a top-10 defense in basketball (in terms of PPG) last year at 100.5 points allowed per contest, and he’ll join a squad that ranked second (95.9 PPG) only to a historic San Antonio team, and the Jazz could seriously make a case for the best defense in basketball next year. Couple that with the added scoring punch that Hill brings and this could be a legitimate six or seven seed in the West.
For Atlanta, this trade gives Dennis Schroder a chance to shine while also picking up a semi-valuable pick in tomorrow’s draft if they don’t trade it to create more space to re-sign Al Horford. Given that multiple teams have looked into moving down or up in this year’s draft and the fact that the Hawks now own two first-round picks this year, this pick could be packaged together to pick up a wing or even a frontcourt piece in case Horford abandons ship. Schroder will finally have the chance to excel, and if he does replace or exceed Teague’s production, this could turn out to be the best move in the trade altogether.
Gabriel Allen on the Bulls-Knicks swap – For some reason, the Knicks decided to ship Robin Lopez and his friendly contract to the Bulls. Now he and Benny can wreak havoc on the rest of the league’s mascots as a tag team while Jerian Grant and Jose Calderon might split some of the available minutes at point guard.
For New York, they get a former MVP who hasn’t played like himself in several years. The fact of the matter is that the other player that the Knicks acquired in the deal–Justin Holiday–might be better and more valuable than Rose at this point. In fact, Rose is so far removed from what he used to be that this is beginning to feel like a sad final act of sorts. It probably won’t be Rose’s last year in the league, and hopefully he rediscovers the athleticism and pizzazz that made him must-watch back in the day. However, that seems rather unlikely to say the least, and this is probably just a one-year rental for the Knicks.
Moving Lopez allows the Knicks to play Kristaps Porzingis at the five full-time with Carmelo Anthony at the four. Meanwhile, RoLo provides the Bulls with a better center than the aged versions of Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol–both of whom are likely headed elsewhere this summer in free agency.
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