Atlanta Hawks point guard Jeff Teague is drawing interest from the New York Knicks, according to ESPN. The Knicks are desperate for an upgrade to their point guard spot (so desperate that even Andre Miller is said to be a potential target):
Teague’s name has surfaced as a prime target given the Knicks’ increasing fears that their longstanding top choice — Toronto’s Kyle Lowry — will not be made available before the deadline, according to sources.
The Knicks have been chasing Lowry all season, as reported in November. But sources indicate that Lowry and his advisers expect to finish the season in Toronto with the playoff-bound Raptors before he becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1.
Teague’s name has thus surfaced as a prime alternative, provided that the Hawks are willing to part with him.
The Hawks would have to be interested in Iman Shumpert — and eager to shed Teague’s long-term contract — to give New York any hope of assembling a package to land the point guard.
But there are other potential complications beyond the Knicks’ lack of draft assets. Teague has three seasons left on a four-year, $32 million contract that would slice into the Knicks’ projected 2015 salary-cap space.
Teague also has the right to approve or block any trade through mid-July because he signed an offer sheet with the Milwaukee Bucks last summer as a restricted free agent that the Hawks matched.
