Atlanta Hawks point guard Jeff Teague. (Photo : Getty Images)
Recent rumors are out that the Atlanta Hawks could trade starting point guard Jeff Teague on draft night and may use some of their present and future draft picks to facilitate it.
Atlanta has the 21st, 44th, and 54th overall selections of the 2016 NBA Draft this Thursday while a potential four picks will be available for them next summer. ESPN indicated that a few of them may be used to "help facilitate a trade" as rumors that either Teague or his backup point guard Dennis Schroder is on the block for the Hawks this offseason.
The 28-year-old Teague just finished the third season of his four-year, $32 million contract with the Hawks and will become an unrestricted free agent next summer. There are speculations that he will not stay in Atlanta after hits unrestricted free-agency and so the Hawks are said to be trying to trade him now instead of losing him for nothing next year.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Teague "could also be moved on draft night" in a package including their starting point guard, their first-round pick this year, and one or two future second-rounders in exchange for going up in the draft on Thursday.
Teague had recently made headlines by admitting in his social media account that he was unhappy in Atlanta and that he played most of the recent regular season with a partially torn patella tendon. He had since deleted his posts, but the damage were allegedly already done in the eyes of his current mother squad.
Hawks GM Wes Wilcox disclosed that they are indeed planning to move up the draft, but he did not mention whether the rumors about Teague are true or not.
"It's always important to have multiple picks because it gives you the opportunity to explore trades that may take you higher in the draft," said Wilcox. "So, yes, it certainly provides some flexibility that we will explore on draft night."
"It's unlikely to think that the Hawks will draft all of those positions. So we'll certainly look to those future picks, maybe add them to what we currently have in this draft and see if there is a chance for us to move up earlier than where we are at No. 21," he added.
