Jeff Teague says he played this season with a bad knee injury
The Atlanta Hawks face a major decision this summer at point guard, where they have two fairly effective players who would start at the position for many NBA teams. Both 27-year-old Jeff Teague and 22-year-old Dennis Schröder are set to become free agents in the 2017 offseason, as well, which means that it would behoove the Hawks front office to move one now in an effort to maximize value. Teague has reportedly already been mentioned in trade talks involving Philadelphia 76ers center Nerlens Noel, and it’s possible that he’ll be in another uniform by the end of the June 23 NBA Draft.
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That would be a somewhat surprising outcome after Teague’s 2014-15 season, in which he nabbed his first All-Star selection and led Atlanta to the best record in the East. Yet Teague looked like a worse player in 2015-16, with most of his per-game averages dropping and his PER falling by nearly 3.0 hollingerinos. In a more basic sense, he just looked like a less dangerous player.
So what went wrong? Well, according to Teague, he was playing with a torn patella tendon in his knee. Teague spoke of the news on his Twitter and Instagram accounts Thursday morning before deleting the posts. Here’s a screengrab:
A tweet from Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com clarifies the injury:
Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution says the Hawks are aware of the posts but have not discussed them with Teague just yet.
Based on this information, it appears that Teague was hobbled but not so severely injured that all sane sports medicine would dictate he not play. Nevertheless, a partial tear can limit a player enough that he can dip from All-Star form and struggle defensively. It makes sense that Teague would want people to know about the injury, because it could affect his value to the Hawks and potentially even as a free agent next offseason.
Whether he’s upset at the Hawks for not talking about his status or an amorphous “they” stand-in for the basketball world is an open and important question. If it’s the Hawks, then he’s probably ready to be traded, which would be fine for Atlanta given that Schröder is a decent option to start. If it’s the basketball world, then the Hawks may want to hold on to Teague in the hope he can recapture his All-Star form and take a leap to becoming a top-level point.
Whatever the situation, it sounds like the Hawks and Teague should have a conversation. They have a lot to figure out before deciding how to approach this offseason.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
