Making sure that he did not lose a good young player without receiving anything in return, Hawks general manager Danny Ferry chose on Saturday to match the offer sheet that starting point guard Jeff Teague had signed with Milwaukee.
As Teague was a restricted free agent, the Hawks exercised their rights to match the contract, which was reported to be for four years and $32-million.
"We are happy to bring Jeff back to our team,” Ferry said in a statement. "He has improved each year of his career and continues to get better. At 25, he's already been a key contributor on a playoff team and we look forward to seeing him develop into even more of a leader on our team."
Last year, Ferry's first charge of the roster in Atlanta, he showed that he is not afraid to have too many players at similar positions with similar skills. Last year, the Hawks had three-point specialists Anthony Morrow and Kyle Korver and drafted a three-point shooter in John Jenkins. Jenkins' size and skills, in a lesser way, mirrored those of free-agent guard Lou Williams, whom the Hawks signed last summer. Ferry also acquired Devin Harris to play in the backcourt with Teague, two more similar players.
Ferry’s mantra was then and appears to be now that you can never have too many good players, even if they play the same positions. Ferry drafted a point guard this year in the first round in Dennis Schröder, who is five years younger than Teague at 20. On the surface, it could seem as if having two good young point guards would make it hard for Schröder to develop but not if you have a belief in never having too many good players.
If Schröder develops in time, then the Hawks would have a potential asset in Teague to trade down the road. If Schröder doesn’t develop in time the way the Hawks had hoped, then Ferry has saved them from having a major hole in the lineup. Keeping Teague also prevents Schröder from having to start at a premature stage in his career and will allow him to begin his NBA career at a slower pace. The Hawks signed Schröder last week.
The job of sorting out playing time and ego issues will now fall to new coach Mike Budenholzer. Budenholzer also issued a statement.
"I am very excited to have the opportunity to coach Jeff," he said. "He has a high level of talent. Keeping him with our group allows us to continue to build and improve going forward."
In their press release to announce they were keeping Teague, the Hawks pointed out that the player has increased his scoring and assist averages for three straight seasons, posting career highs with 14.6 points and 7.2 assists in 32.9 minutes per game in 80 games (78 starts) last season. His 7.2 assists per game ranked 12th in the NBA last season.
By keeping Teague, the Hawks also prevented themselves from losing two key players in a matter of days. Unrestricted free agent forward Josh Smith left the Hawks to sign with Detroit.
One of the potential issues the Hawks could have is that Teague had expressed to the 'Atlanta Journal-Constitution' his desire to move on and reunite with new Bucks coach Larry Drew, his former coach with the Hawks. That could fall largely on Budenholzer’s shoulders to make Teague feel wanted and at home after this business end of the process.
In 2008, Smith also signed an offer sheet that the Hawks ultimately matched. There were hard feelings at the time on his part, some of which might have led to his ultimate departure last Wednesday. However, in between, they got five good seasons out of him. They’re likely hoping for the same with Teague.
