Jeff Teague (Photo : NBAE via Getty Images)
The Atlanta Hawks could trade one of the players in their core roster to retain Al Horford and Kent Bazemore in free agency.
The Hawks have plenty to address in the offseason, with Horford and Bazemore becoming free agents in July. With a projected max salary cap space of $34.6 million this summer, Atlanta only has enough money to spend on Horford and Bazemore, who are both expected to command more lucrative deals in the market.
Essentially, such amount of money would not be enough to sign key players in free agency, which the Hawks badly needing roster upgrades following a playoff series sweep suffered against the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk, to make room for another big addition, Atlanta could decide on trading either Jeff Teague or Dennis Schroder.
"The Hawks know that making any other significant additions could be difficult if they're able to re-sign Horford and Bazemore. They could make a trade since they have two quality point guards, Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder," Youngmisuk wrote.
"Teague has been the starter, but Schroder wants to start too -- and Schroder was the point guard Budenholzer went with to finish a do-or-die Game 4. Teague sat out the entire fourth quarter."
Teague has been the Hawks' main option at the PG spot in the past five years, but had a decline in minutes in the last season with Schroder's emergence. If the Hawks are going to pick between the two, Teague would probably be the odd man out, having been linked to several trade talks prior to the Feb. 18 trade deadline.
Moreover, Teague will be in the final year of his four-year $32 million contract next season, which makes him a likely asset in Atlanta's potential trade deals. Despite struggling to be a major contributor for the Hawks during the regular season, Teague still has plenty of market value left that could net the Hawks key players.
On the other hand, Schroder has the upside to be the Hawks' more reliable point guard, which the 22-year-old has shown at times during the Hawks' series against the Cavs. Schroder averaged 11.0 points and 4.4 assists per game while only playing 20.3 minutes, but given more playing time, there is no doubt the 6-foot-1 guard could take a bigger role in Atlanta.
The Hawks have yet to confirm any deals involving Teague or any of the team's players. But if it goes down between Teague and Schroder, the former would probably be the likeliest to be dealt.
