Jeff Teague opts in

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

He could have opted out before injuries wrecked this year. If he had a normal Teague year without injuries he would have been able to capitalize on this bad market but of course we're the Wolves so he had to get hurt and opt in to get paid. I don't have a problem keeping him. He's a solid PG who protects the ball. Nothing earth shattering, but not bad either. This was his first year missing the playoffs in a long time so he's not the issue with this team. Even Fox struggled in year 1 for the Kings so it would be nice to have a placeholder if we take a PG in the draft so we don't throw away a season on a Rookie PG. I could also see him being trade fodder for teams like the Suns and Magic who still need PG's depending on how their drafts go.

[thedoper]

He could have opted out before injuries wrecked this year. If he had a normal Teague year without injuries he would have been able to capitalize on this bad market but of course we're the Wolves so he had to get hurt and opt in to get paid. I don't have a problem keeping him. He's a solid PG who protects the ball. Nothing earth shattering, but not bad either. This was his first year missing the playoffs in a long time so he's not the issue with this team. Even Fox struggled in year 1 for the Kings so it would be nice to have a placeholder if we take a PG in the draft so we don't throw away a season on a Rookie PG. I could also see him being trade fodder for teams like the Suns and Magic who still need PG's depending on how their drafts go.

This is a sound reasonable thought. He's going to be very tradable at the deadline too, ideally we draft his replacement and that player makes Teague worth moving at the deadline.

[Monster]

He could have opted out before injuries wrecked this year. If he had a normal Teague year without injuries he would have been able to capitalize on this bad market but of course we're the Wolves so he had to get hurt and opt in to get paid. I don't have a problem keeping him. He's a solid PG who protects the ball. Nothing earth shattering, but not bad either. This was his first year missing the playoffs in a long time so he's not the issue with this team. Even Fox struggled in year 1 for the Kings so it would be nice to have a placeholder if we take a PG in the draft so we don't throw away a season on a Rookie PG. I could also see him being trade fodder for teams like the Suns and Magic who still need PG's depending on how their drafts go.

This is a sound reasonable thought. He's going to be very tradable at the deadline too, ideally we draft his replacement and that player makes Teague worth moving at the deadline.

Trading him in season makes more sense to me also. Realistically we may as well keep Teague around. Even Lip posted the other day he is the Wolves best PG. :) Unless there is something we don't know or some team we can fleece we may as well hold onto him for the price we would be paying to give him up (contract we take back or meh buyout) let's say Teague took 7 million in a buyout. Ok that's conaidererable just would we really get a PG that's even equal to him on the open market for that much? I'd have doubts. If Teague plays well for a couple months that could help us in the short term (we might actually not suck) and or we might be able to get something decent back in a deal. He is an overpaid starting level player on a 1 year deal. I get he is frustrating but there are much bigger problems on this team than an overpaid but worthwhile player on an expiring deal. I still think a healthy Teague playing for a coach that actually plays to his strengths and doesn't ask him to do too much might bring out more from him. There is plenty of room for him to play and another young PG or 2. He has seemed plenty open to a lesser role.

[Lipoli390]

He could have opted out before injuries wrecked this year. If he had a normal Teague year without injuries he would have been able to capitalize on this bad market but of course we're the Wolves so he had to get hurt and opt in to get paid. I don't have a problem keeping him. He's a solid PG who protects the ball. Nothing earth shattering, but not bad either. This was his first year missing the playoffs in a long time so he's not the issue with this team. Even Fox struggled in year 1 for the Kings so it would be nice to have a placeholder if we take a PG in the draft so we don't throw away a season on a Rookie PG. I could also see him being trade fodder for teams like the Suns and Magic who still need PG's depending on how their drafts go.

This is a sound reasonable thought. He's going to be very tradable at the deadline too, ideally we draft his replacement and that player makes Teague worth moving at the deadline.

Trading him in season makes more sense to me also. Realistically we may as well keep Teague around. Even Lip posted the other day he is the Wolves best PG. :) Unless there is something we don't know or some team we can fleece we may as well hold onto him for the price we would be paying to give him up (contract we take back or meh buyout) let's say Teague took 7 million in a buyout. Ok that's conaidererable just would we really get a PG that's even equal to him on the open market for that much? I'd have doubts. If Teague plays well for a couple months that could help us in the short term (we might actually not suck) and or we might be able to get something decent back in a deal. He is an overpaid starting level player on a 1 year deal. I get he is frustrating but there are much bigger problems on this team than an overpaid but worthwhile player on an expiring deal. I still think a healthy Teague playing for a coach that actually plays to his strengths and doesn't ask him to do too much might bring out more from him. There is plenty of room for him to play and another young PG or 2. He has seemed plenty open to a lesser role.

Lol. Monster, It's yet another example of the Wolves predicament that I would have to conclude Teague is our best PG. Actually, I think it's a close call between Teague and Tyus when you consider their play on both sides of the ball and the extent to which they make (or don't make) their teammates better. Teague is the better player of the two, but I honestly don't think he's the best of the two for this team as currently constructed.

Teague was Thibodeau's version of Derrick Rose. Thibodeau wanted a scoring iso PG as part of his effort to construct a team reminiscent of his glorious Bulls teams. He expected Towns to be a low-block defender and passer like Noah. He expected Wiggins to be a hard-nosed defender and aggressive scorer like Butler. And Teague was going to be his Derrick Rose - albeit not as good. In reality, an elusive concept to Thibodeau, Teague doesn't fit well with this team. He's ball dominant, has mediocre court vision, is a poor defender and isn't a good floor generally. As such, he doesn't blend well with out other players because he doesn't compensate for their weaknesses and doesn't bring out their strengths. But it gets much worse when you factor in his $19 million annual salary. There's a reason he opted in. No other team around the League was going to offer him anything close to that amunt, even over two or three years. Thankfully, his contract has only one year left.

I have to agree that Teague is not high up on my list of concerns right now. He'll be here next season, at least until the Feb trade deadline, and then he'll be gone. In the meantime, we weren't going to have enough cap room to land a top free agent anyway even if Teague had opted out.

The best strategy now is to hold into him until we approach the February trade deadline. Then we have to hope Teague is healthy and that some contending team is desperate for a veteran PG to the point where they'll give us young talent or draft picks along with a comparable expiring contract. Wiggins is a much bigger problem for this team than Teague. And at the end of the day, here are the things that really matter in determining the Wolves fate: (1) who the Wolves hire as PBO and GM, (2) who the Wolves hire as head coach, (3) Covington's health, (4) Saric's development or trade value, (5) the development of Okogie and KBD, and (6) who the Wolves draft this June. In the meantime, Teague's decision to opt in was no surprise and won't have a significant impact on the long-term fortunes of this franchise.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Who the Wolves draft this summer should third on your list, Lip.

[Lipoli390]

Who the Wolves draft this summer should third on your list, Lip.

I agree, Cam. Maybe even #2. I'd put it #1 except for the fact that who we draft will flow from who we hire as our new PBO.

[Monster]

Lip as I have said before my assumption was Thibs brought Teague here more as a complimentary player with everyone able to score from various players on the court. I think there was some of that which occurred but as you said Thibs sort of asked Teague to do a lot and more than he was a capable. I look back at his time in Indiana playing for Nate McMillen playing with at least one and often more players that needed the ball a lot. He had a really nice season. If you are convinced that Thibs had a negative effect on certain players why not consider Teague if he can stay healthy may have more to offer than he showed here? One significant reason I think there is more "upside :)" to Teague next season is Towns screen game took a pretty big jump this year and that was a big part of Teague's skill set was pick and roll. Assuming Saric starts he would then have two guys that are threats to screen and then score pretty much everywhere on the floor. It might even be interesting to play Teague more with the bench and see if he develops some chemistry with Dieng. Thibs tended to stick with what was working and in his idea of what was happening. To some extent I do think you can make an argument that at times he was right. There was times it certainly seemed tinkering with things a bit more made a heck of a lot of sense. It SEEMS Ryan is much more open to trying out new things. I'm excited about that. I'm not excited about Teague next season as the starting PG BUT I would not be shocked to be a bit pleasantly surprised by his play overall.

One last thing about Teague. There has been a lot of people noting his body language on the court and questioning if he wants to be here. I also think about how he was a guy that openly said how he thought the team should play offensively and defensively, saying Tyus should play more, wanting to play with Tyus, etc etc. It's seems he went against Thibs to me although I honestly don't think Thibs cared (which we could go into but we are already talking about Thibs too much in this post!) I think Teague even though he said he was effected by everything that went on he was. He was injured more than any of his fairly healthy career and played through a lot of injuries when he did play. I'd guess it was more his frustration with his own season and the team's season than him just wanting out. I haven't heard reports about him loving Ryan like reports from other vets but Teague isn't a big talker so there may not be much to read into there. This season was frustrating as a fan can you imagine how bad it was for Teague? Just some things to think about when this franchise needs to be one that gets more out of players to benefit itself one way or another.

[thedoper]

I expect Teague to play well next year. We still need a legit plan for a replacement though, and I don't think it's Tyus based on his lack of tangible improvement this year. The draft is huge, and we need to be looking hard at PG and hope we strike gold. Unless by miracle our new POBO clears a max slot and signs Kemba.

[KG4Ever]

Teague is too old to matter as we build around KAT. So agewise, salarywise and gamewise, I don't think he's a good fit here. I'd like to see Tyus as starter for a year to see what we have in him. Hopefully, we can sign him to a capfriendly deal, which we should be able to do since he likes playing for his home team, likes KAT, Ryan and he probably has the best chance to start here compared to anywhere else.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

The talk of "let's see what we have with Tyus" is mind-boggling to me because it's pretty apparent what he is in the league.

He's a backup point guard with massive limitations. He has the ability to orchestrate offensive sets and facilitate out of the pick and roll, but he is not a good scorer or shooter and does not have the athleticism or size profile to assume future improvement to an offensive star. He's an improved defender, but one could argue he has maxed out that aspect of his game due to his limitations physically. He's not an imposing presence, but more of a "fire and forget" defender at the top of a defense. You can win with him as your backup point guard on a lot of nights, but overpaying him could cripple your ability as a franchise to improve at other positions.

He's a $5M per year guy and should not exceed that number, especially with the depth of the point guard position either in the NBA or projected to get to the league in the near future.