Jeff Teague is the forgotten man for the Timberwolves

Jeff Teague has had an interesting couple weeks since being signed by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Before he was even officially announced as an acquisition by the Wolves on July 10th, he was already looked down upon by the fans. Ricky Rubio, the fan-favorite and passing wizard, was shipped to Utah for an Oklahoma City first round pick.

With the former Indiana Pacer sitting next to head coach and front office boss Tom Thibodeau, general manager Scott Layden, and other new acquisition Taj Gibson, he tried to endear himself to fans who were still fuming that their favorite team had shipped out the Spanish sensation. Making it clear Minnesota was somewhere he circled as a destination, the 29-year-old was almost drooling at the possibility of running the pick-and-roll with a player like Karl Anthony Towns. Heck, he even said the Wolves were his go to team in NBA 2K.

Fast-forward roughly two weeks and we learned that Minnesota is looking with “increased seriousness” to trade for elite floor general Kyrie Irving.

While Teague has not come out and said anything about this publicly, I can imagine he was not too pleased that Thibs and company were already looking at a possible replacement. The only reason his name was ever brought up in this hypothetical trade discussion was to let people know that, as a new free agent signing, he is not able to be moved until December 15th.

Two days after those rumors became public, the Timberwolves official Twitter page put out a video with the caption “@Teague0, the point guard who can do it all!” Of course, whether this was a subtle backing of the Wake Forest Demon Deacon or just a coincidence is anyone’s guess.

With owner Glen Taylor’s recent comments about Andrew Wiggins, It seems more and more likely that Wigs and Teague will both be starting for Minnesota when the season tips off. With the whirlwind of activity that surrounded the Wolves this off-season, Teague seems to be the one left out of the discussion.

The 2015, All-Star version of Teague is a very good option at point guard. And whether people want to admit it or not, he will be compared to Rubio for the entire season. There are elements that the former Atlanta Hawk can bring to the game that the former Wolf and current Utah Jazz point guard can not — and vice versa, of course.

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If you hop onto YouTube and take a look at both Teague and Rubio, it’s pretty obvious where the differences are. The 26-year-old Spaniard was one of the best passers in the NBA, often making the extraordinary look normal. Teague was less of a passing point point guard and has more of an angle towards scoring. He averaged an assist less per game than Rubio, but also put in four more points per game.

Where the new $57 million man really separates himself from Rubio is in the pick-and-roll. He and Al Horford worked very well together when they were both in Atlanta, and shined in pick-and-roll situations. With a top-five big man in Karl Anthony Towns, Teague should keep pace, if not exceed, his numbers in pick-and-rolls from a year ago. Last season, with a very good young big man in Myles Turner, he ranked in the 86th percentile. He is ranked ahead of players like DeMar DeRozan, Chris Paul, and LeBron James. The fan-favorite Rubio was only in the 51st percentile.

Another key difference in both of their games is the three-point shot. While the new Jazz leading man never had an eye for scoring, shooting is such a big part of today’s NBA. Each team’s point guard MUST have the ability to shoot from long-range. Teague definitely has the advantage in that department, shooting 36 percent while Rubio was at 31 percent on the season.

All stats aside, Minnesota is not looking for a ton of scoring from their new floor general. With Towns, Wiggins, and Butler in the starting lineup, the team already have plenty of firepower. That is not even mentioning Jamal Crawford coming off the bench, either. What the Timberwolves really need is a player who can make shots when needed and be a decoy during crunch time situations.

There were numerous times last season when Minnesota had a double-digit lead heading into the fourth quarter only to end up with yet another one in the L column. Having a good scorer like Teague out there will not allow defenders to creep around and double team KAT, Wigs, or Butler when crunch time rolls around. This is something that Rubio was not able to do consistently throughout his career.

Defensively is where the Wolves might miss Rubio the most; he averaged a half steal more than Teague last season. Rubio would stay in front of defenders and still be able to gamble on steals and recover, more often than not. While the new guy might not put up the defensive numbers the man before him did, he will be able to do things Rubio could.

Being able to stay in front of defenders in pick-and-roll defense was tough for the Spaniard. He would get rubbed off and not have the athleticism to catch up to his man. While Teague is not a player known for his defense, but he has the athleticism to stay in front of most point guards.

This should be a season of excitement for Timberwolves fans. It should be — fingers crossed — the first time since KG was here that we see playoff basketball. It will also be the first time in a long time Rubio will not be the opening night starting point guard. Fans might not like to hear that, but the new guy in charge will make fans forget quickly and start making new memories.

Next: 5 Goals For Jamal Crawford In 2017-18

Prepare, Wolves fans. The man we aren’t talking about will be the guy who we can’t stop talking about before you know it.