Timberwolves Announce Intention To Sign Jeff Teague As Starting Point Guard
On the heels of Ricky Rubio’s trade to the Jazz, the Wolves confirmed intentions to sign Jeff Teague as his replacement.
The Deal:
The Minnesota Timberwolves were coming into free agency with a decent amount of cap room and some movable pieces, which made them an intriguing team to write about. Zach Lowe reported in his annual free agency primer that Tom Thibodeau wanted to spend big now, as the money would have disappeared within the next two years.
As it turns out Zach Lowe’s statement was proven profoundly correct. Hours before the midnight free agency moratorium begins Minnesota first traded Ricky Rubio to the Jazz and immediately committed to signing Jeff Teague. The yearly salary is unknown at this point, but according to Chad Hartman, the deal will be two years long.
He was not at the top of most Minnesota fans wish list, but Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden have consistently spoken of how they wanted an ‘off the ball’ player, and Teague most certainly fits the Timberwolves schematically.
Teague’s Stats:
15.3 points, 7.8 assists, 4.0 rebs, 1.2 steals, 0.4 blocks, .442 field goal percentage, 357 three-point percentage
Fit:
The Minnesota Timberwolves already have three high usage players in Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, so adding another cook to spoil the broth would have been a poor use of assets for the Timberwolves. Teague will likely play off the ball in Minnesota, and he will be the best perimeter shooter on the roster from day one. Furthermore, he should help Minnesota improve on their mediocre chip of 34.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Teague will be an important player in Minnesota because he will keep the lane clear which gives Karl-Anthony Towns space to wreak havoc on the interior. Additionally, Teague will also stay out of the mid-range area where Andrew Wiggins does the majority of his operating.
Offensively, the Timberwolves lacked variety last year, and although Teague does have some flaws, he adds a dimension to the Wolves offence that has been lacking for a while. He averaged eight assists this year in Indiana, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see these numbers drastically drop as Jimmy Butler will probably be the man bringing the ball up the court.
The main area where Teague will hinder the Timberwolves, is with his defence. Teague often struggles to keep up with the best point guards, and this is a problem for the Timberwolves as they already have a below average defender in Andrew Wiggins. So, with two turnstiles on the perimeter it makes it difficult for Tom Thibodeau to implement his defensive system.
The most positive aspect of the signing of Jeff Teague, is that he is excellent in the pick and roll, and this is something Minnesota really struggled with last year. When you have an elite center, the pick and roll has to be the cornerstone of your offence, and Ricky Rubio really struggled to deliver in this way as he ranked in the 51st percentile as a pick and roll ball handler, and was simply erratic at finishing in traffic. Jeff Teague on the other hand ranked in the 86th percentile as a ball handler, so Minnesota’s offence could become even more deadly next year.
Tom Thibodeau’s offence is pretty basic for the most part, so things such as pick and roll are very important, and Teague could very easily help Minnesota become masters of this play type.
Grade: B
At first, I absolutely hated the move, but Teague is a good fit in Tom Thibodeau’s offence, and the fact he isn’t a max player means that Tom Thibodeau still has room to add other role players in free agency. For example, players like PJ Tucker and Patrick Patterson are likely to be targets for Minnesota.
Teague has his flaws, but Tom Thibodeau is a defensive wizard who managed to maximize the likes of Mike Dunleavy and Derrick Rose as perimeter defenders while he was in Chicago, so he can probably get something out of Jeff Teague.
A knock many have on Teague is that he can be a difficult personality to deal with. But, Tom Thibodeau rarely has problems with his players, and Minnesota already have a strong locker room in place. Furthermore, Jimmy Butler and Cole Aldrich will step up as leaders for Minnesota, so Teague’s potentially negative personality will not be an issue.
As a player, Teague would gain a C grade, but the fact he leaves financial flexibility for Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden makes this signing all the more impressive
Update: As per above (via Woj’s new ESPN Twitter no less) the deal is 3-years for $57 Million.
