The Minnesota Timberwolves were determined to make a splash in the summer of 2017, and they didn’t wait long to do just that.
Tom Thibodeau is ready to win now. On draft night, he traded for Chicago’s Jimmy Butler to form a dynamic Big Three along with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.
But that wasn’t the end of the Wolves’ transaction train. With cap space at a premium and depth needed at multiple positions, the Minnesota front office was ready to pull the trigger again. Next thing you know, Ricky Rubio is in Utah, and roughly $14 million was off the books.
Enter Jeff Teague.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the former Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers point guard agreed to a three-year, $57 million deal (third year is player option) with the Timberwolves as free agency officially started at midnight Eastern Time..
Free agent Jeff Teague has agreed to a 3-year, $57M deal with Minnesota, league sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/fgvUnhATgH
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2017
So, what does Jeff Teague do for the Wolves? Let’s dig in and find out.
He’s been in the NBA for eight seasons; seven with Atlanta, one with Indiana. Teague has one All-Star appearance to his name and has been a steady lead guard for competitive teams.
He helped lead the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2015, posting a line of 16.8 points and 6.7 assists per game in those playoffs. It makes sense that Tom Thibodeau chose to pursue veterans with big-time postseason experience; the young Wolves had trouble closing out games in 2016-17 and will be reassured by the consistent handle of Teague.
The general consensus is that Teague’s defense is a step below what Ricky Rubio provided the Timberwolves. His size (6′-1″) hurts him in modern NBA defensive schemes that call for switches on almost every screen; the Cavaliers gave him fits in the playoffs this year by using LeBron James in pick-and-roll situations with Kyrie Irving and forcing Teague to switch into isolation defense on LeBron.
He’s not a shutdown on-ball defender but can be solid in a sound team system; the Hawks were always a top-10 defensively with Teague. If the Wolves can get improved defensive production from Wiggins and Towns alongside gritty Thibs disciples Butler and Taj Gibson, Teague will be able to find his niche on that end.
Scoring-wise, he’s an upgrade from Rubio in regards to the overall team fit. Even if he isn’t an automatic threat beyond the arc, he can stretch the floor better and he’s extremely efficient at the rim. Teague shot 55 percent from three-feet and closer last season, which is a breath of fresh air for the Wolves after Rubio’s long-term layup-finishing woes. I would expect him to have the ball in his hands early in possessions, with freedom to go to the basket or distribute.
Teague also excels in orchestrating pick-and-roll action, scoring in the 86th percentile among all players last year, according to Synergy. The Wolves have a lot of weapons to pair with him in those offensive sets, from the multi-dimensional game that Towns can display to Wiggins’ athletic slasher skill-set.
Next: Timberwolves Fans: The Sky Is Not Falling
Though many have grumbled over Jeff Teague as Rubio’s replacement, this is still a likely playoff team and it now has a noticeable uptick in scoring punch. We’ll see how his experience plays a role in the most important story line of Minnesota’s 2017-18 campaign: influencing and assisting the two incumbent Wolves stars, Towns and Wiggins.