Sounds like it's probably Jeff Teague...

[BloopOracle]

https://twitter.com/MikeAScotto/status/881167385729925120

Come on Millsap!

[Monster]

I just finished watching a Pacers vs Clippers game from last season it was one game but here are some observations.

Espcially the first half Teague was up on and all over CP3. He was part of why the Clippers and Paul tuned the ball over. Throughout the game Teague made an impact getting deflections stunting and getting back to his man etc. he stripped Jordon at least twice. There were times he didn't get over screens but it seemed some of that was by design. He was switched onto bigs but ai think they only scored once. I'm not suggesting this guy is an all NBA defensive guy but he looked like he could be an asset not a liability for sure.

Offensively if you watch highlights of Teague the guy has quickness and real. Year to blow past guys and he has a pretty tight handle also. He can get where he wants to go and keeps guys on his hip to create. He has some craftiness to him and drew fouls all around the floor. He didn't shoot well in this game and there were some questionable shots he took but he is a nice offensive threat.

The fit of Teague with this group makes a lot of sense. He played most of the year with the Pacers who have George and Ellis who handle the ball plenty. He played off the ball late in this game quite a bit. Even with those guys and the lowest usuage rate since 2011-2012 he had a career high in assists.

I'll probably dig up another game and see how I feel but Teague looked plenty good to consider him the guy we decided to get.

Luc was fantastic defensively against George. He had a few other hustle plays that were big also. He could be a difference maker to a contender in the playoffs guarding a very good player.

Aaron Brooks...looked like a vet min guy.

Al Jefferson...he did end up with some good possessions but man the game isn't kind to him.

Stucky when attacking was getting whatever he wanted. Then later he started taking long 2's. I have no idea why. If he is healthy the guy can play.

[Lipoli390]

Yeah.. just hard to be excited about this whole swap right now, although a 1st rounder next year is nice. I guess we'll see how free agency pans out.

Would you rather have Ricky and 4 million in cap space or Teague and a 1st round pick next year when we previously would not have had one? I think option 2 is a nice haul.

That's the way I'm looking at it, Kahns. It will be very interesting to see what we do with the remaining roughly $18 million in cap space.

Yeah that pick and what we do with it, as well as how Rubio plays next season probably will make or break this swap. We downgraded in play making and defense for a slight boost in shooting. We traded a better defensive fit for a slightly better offensive fit. Maybe Teague elevates his game. Time will tell.

I loved Rubio, and I'm not thrilled with the Teague signing, but unless Rubio can keep up his hot streak from the end of the year last year, Teague's going to be more than a slight boost in shooting. He shoots a full 5% better from three on a higher volume. I also like that Teague should give us improved dribble penetration, because that is important from your PG in today's game. But yeah, he'll be a real drop off from Rubio defensively, IMO, at least off the ball. But I think he'll still be a halfway decent on the ball defender.

I don't think the Rubio-Teague switch will help us nearly as much as the Butler trade, but I can see how he makes more sense in terms of fit. I do wish we had been able to lock him up for a little less money though.

I still see the Rubio/Teague swap as a net negative for us. We get significantly better 2-point shooting (assuming Ricky regresses to his pre-allstar shooting). But we lose perhaps the best passer in the league and lose a lot on defense. And we don't gain anything significant in our biggest area of need, namely 3-point shooting. Teague hits on average 1 three per game. I like Teague's durability and I like that we got a 1st round pick next season. But I'm having a hard time warming up to this swap.

What really tips the scales against this deal in my view is the Teague contract. First, we're using $5 million more of our precious cap space for, at best, a slight overall upgrade at position without significantly addressing our biggest need. Second, the 3rd year option makes us vulnerable to both Teague and Butler leaving or holding us up for big contracts at the same time in only 2 years. Ricky had made the Twin Cities his home. If we're a playoff team in two years, I think we would have had a much easier time re-signing him and he'd be at an age (29) more conducive to another longer-term contract.

[Monster]

Are Teague and Millsap homies? Does this signing help the team get Millsap and at a good price?

I wondered the same thing. Millsap would give the team a great starting 5 top to bottom. Maybe the best in the league.

Maybe Teague would even take a couple million less that reported if it meant they could get Millsap. Millsap has to be looking at this team as something more than some of the other teams looking to get him. For example Denver can pay him and has some nice talent but they don't have a Jimmy Butler and a playoff tested PG he knows very well in Teague. We will see what happens.

[Lipoli390]

I just finished watching a Pacers vs Clippers game from last season it was one game but here are some observations.

Espcially the first half Teague was up on and all over CP3. He was part of why the Clippers and Paul tuned the ball over. Throughout the game Teague made an impact getting deflections stunting and getting back to his man etc. he stripped Jordon at least twice. There were times he didn't get over screens but it seemed some of that was by design. He was switched onto bigs but ai think they only scored once. I'm not suggesting this guy is an all NBA defensive guy but he looked like he could be an asset not a liability for sure.

Offensively if you watch highlights of Teague the guy has quickness and real. Year to blow past guys and he has a pretty tight handle also. He can get where he wants to go and keeps guys on his hip to create. He has some craftiness to him and drew fouls all around the floor. He didn't shoot well in this game and there were some questionable shots he took but he is a nice offensive threat.

The fit of Teague with this group makes a lot of sense. He played most of the year with the Pacers who have George and Ellis who handle the ball plenty. He played off the ball late in this game quite a bit. Even with those guys and the lowest usuage rate since 2011-2012 he had a career high in assists.

I'll probably dig up another game and see how I feel but Teague looked plenty good to consider him the guy we decided to get.

Luc was fantastic defensively against George. He had a few other hustle plays that were big also. He could be a difference maker to a contender in the playoffs guarding a very good player.

Aaron Brooks...looked like a vet min guy.

Al Jefferson...he did end up with some good possessions but man the game isn't kind to him.

Stucky when attacking was getting whatever he wanted. Then later he started taking long 2's. I have no idea why. If he is healthy the guy can play.

Thanks, Monster. Makes me feel a bit better about this.

[60WinTim]

Well, as much as I love Rubio's game, Teague is clearly a better fit with Butler, Wigs and KAT. Rubio's #1 strength is passing, but he needs the ball in his hands to take advantage of that skill. Thibs wants to shift the burden of winning games onto his big 3. Teague is the better compliment to help them in that endeavor.

Teague has consistently put up well-above average PER numbers, and named an all-star two years ago. It is a pretty good upgrade.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

https://twitter.com/MikeAScotto/status/881167385729925120

Come on Millsap!

Wow, that would be a heckuva starting 5!

I don't quite like the fit as much. I like the defense for sure, but it would be nice if he could hit 3s at a higher clip, especially because he and Butler both seem to operate in the midrange. If we could also land a stretch forward like Ilyasova for cheap, then I'd feel a little more comfortable with it.

In terms of Teague taking less money to make it work, couldn't he technically still do that? He's only agreed in principle to the deal. And as DeAndre taught us all a couple years ago, agreeing in principle isn't the same thing as actually signing the contract!

This is why getting a guy like Bolden or DJ might have been a nice choice.

Anybody else think there are going to be a lot of pretty good players left over after everybody's cap space is gone? Some teams could get some really good deals on veterans.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Well, as much as I love Rubio's game, Teague is clearly a better fit with Butler, Wigs and KAT. Rubio's #1 strength is passing, but he needs the ball in his hands to take advantage of that skill. Thibs wants to shift the burden of winning games onto his big 3. Teague is the better compliment to help them in that endeavor.

Teague has consistently put up well-above average PER numbers, and named an all-star two years ago. It is a pretty good upgrade.

I've got my qualms about Teague, but one thing I like is that he is a threat to penetrate, and teams these days really need to have a relatively quick PG who is a threat to get to the rim, not only can it lead to layups, but it can keep the help defense guessing leaving guys open for kickouts.

[Monster]

FWIW I listened to the Dunc'd on podcast guys and one of them was Mrh on the Teague deal because he thought they should have waited out the market longer. Jrue' big 5 year deal wasn't known then. The other guys said he thought it made a lot of sense because they needed a guy Teague is younger and has been very durable than any of the other guys and likely will cost less. He also said it's a 3 year deal and that is a big factor because other guys may have wanted a 4 year or longer deal. He also said having a decent chunk of cap space over another option would allow the to get another player or players. He seemed to convince he other guy that it made sense. He also said that if Teague opted out that they do have Tyus who could develop into a quality player. :) both agreed that Teague was unlikely to be a bad contract which probably means it's a win for the Wolves. They thought the Rubio deal made sense and liked the pick was likely coming over now with George going to OKC.

They talked about the pacers dealing Paul George and...they said its pretty easy at this point to say Vlade did better dealif Cousins than Pritchard did for George. Vlade love!!! A few minutes later they called them the "Sacramento leverages" which was pretty hilarious.

[Jester1534]

FWIW I listened to the Dunc'd on podcast guys and one of them was Mrh on the Teague deal because he thought they should have waited out the market longer. Jrue' big 5 year deal wasn't known then. The other guys said he thought it made a lot of sense because they needed a guy Teague is younger and has been very durable than any of the other guys and likely will cost less. He also said it's a 3 year deal and that is a big factor because other guys may have wanted a 4 year or longer deal. He also said having a decent chunk of cap space over another option would allow the to get another player or players. He seemed to convince he other guy that it made sense. He also said that if Teague opted out that they do have Tyus who could develop into a quality player. :) both agreed that Teague was unlikely to be a bad contract which probably means it's a win for the Wolves. They thought the Rubio deal made sense and liked the pick was likely coming over now with George going to OKC.

They talked about the pacers dealing Paul George and...they said its pretty easy at this point to say Vlade did better dealif Cousins than Pritchard did for George. Vlade love!!! A few minutes later they called them the "Sacramento leverages" which was pretty hilarious.

I listened to it to last night too. What did you think about them bringing up trading belly? They also said what I said yesterday they could trade that first and Aldrich away to make more cap space.