A Very Specific Plan to Trade & Replace Jeff Teague

[Jamaaliver]

But I expressed my concern in a post three months ago:

If we lose in the 2nd round, or if we get swept in the EC Finals...I'm not certain bringing back the same pieces for next season gets us closer to winning a title. I simply think Noah and AL could be a great place to begin retooling the roster.

It all comes down how this team fares in the post-season. If we bow out in game 4 or 5 of any series....I would look to upgrade and retool. Not simply maintain the status quo.

I stand by this statement. This roster is flawed. We have the unique opportunity to be a major player in Free Agency and the draft coming off a sensational season. It'd be a waste not to pursue every avenue in hopes of improving THE OVERALL ROSTER.

[PandaKidd]

I think number one concern is upgrading the wing. With teague without teague, FA , etc. Doing so improves bench by moving korver to the bench.

Then when we reach FA we have to decide what to do with Millsap and that will affect what to do with the front court.

[Jamaaliver]

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[Jamaaliver]

Let's just stick a pin in it. Bud will likely re-sign this entire core at all costs.

But if we lose in the first or second round next year, or get swept again in the ECF....well. We'll revisit.

June 2015


Revisiting (with permission from UGA Dawgs and ATL Boy).

JT0 said something this week in an AJC interview which reminded me of a debate RIP and I had last year:

We won 60 games. We wont the conference. We are in the 2nd year of our system. Trading the guy that literally makes it all go is insane...You were convinced Teague had taken us as far as we could go last year.

You are a top team in the league. Find me another that trades key piece for a rookie...Move Teague for a rookie and we are a worse team for the foreseeable future.

All I am saying is that if you are trading Teague, you better be upgrading the position(Conley) or going at least equal UNLESS you are getting a massive upgrade somewhere else. And I don't see a massive upgrade anywhere else in the scenarios suggested.

In addition to the increased playing time for Schroder, Teague said he knew the Hawks had gone as far as they could with Al Horford and himself. The staples of the organization are gone, as Horford signed with the Celtics and a free agent and Teague was dealt with a year remaining on his contract. The 60-win season of 2014-15 was the pinnacle.


“It happens to every team,” Teague said. “You can only go so far. You can only do so much. I think we reached our ceiling with me and Al and that group when we won those 60 games. We followed up and didn’t do as well the next year. We had a good season, but we pretty much knew it was over.”

Here


The front office realized it a few months too late. (Thus the midseason trade rumors.) The fanbase realized it a year too late. (After yet another sweep in the playoffs to the LeBrons.) But even former players acknowledge it openly now.

The writing was on the wall. That core had reached its peak. Trading Teague for a rookie might have sounded crazy...but it's exactly what we ended up doing. Truth is, we waited a year longer than we should have.