Trade Grades
Click here for link to Indiana Pacers Trade Grades
Click here for link to Utah Jazz Trade Grades
Pacers get: PG Jeff Teague
Jazz get: PG George Hill
Hawks get: #12 overall draft pick (via Utah) [SF Taurean Prince, Sophomore, Baylor]
There was some logic in the concept of moving Teague, I’ll give Hawks GM Danny Ferry that. Emerging young PG Dennis Schroder played fantastic last season in limited minutes, and with Teague’s $8 million contract expiring after this season and the team unlikely to have any desire to re-sign him given Schroder’s presence, trading him away now was the right call. Additionally, receiving a lottery pick gave Ferry increased flexibility on how he wanted to replace Teague -- both in that he can draft any type of player he wanted, as well as open financial flexibility.
But while this idea of keeping his options opened in that regard is true, it also isn’t necessarily true from a certain point of view. Ferry clearly went for youth on this trade, trading away a veteran in favor of a youngster in Schroder, while also acquiring a draft pick for said veteran. But Atlanta’s next three best players -- C Al Horford, PF Paul Millsap, and SG Kyle Korver, are already 30, 31, and 35 years of age respectively. Horford is also a free agent this summer, and Millsap (as well as Korver) the next. Is Ferry planning to re-sign them? How do you expect to hand the reigns of your franchise to players who are nearly a decade apart in age? Perhaps bringing back a more established veteran on the wing would have made more sense if Ferry plans to try and keep Horford around this summer; if not, however, then that’s a separate discussion.
Yet I might have been more sympathetic to Ferry’s cause had he utilized his pick more effectively. Given the uncertain long-term status of both Horford and Millsap -- with their age and upcoming free agencies and all -- adding another big man would have made a lot of sense. I understand that three important ones -- Poeltl, Maker, and Sabonis -- had all just been selected at 9 through 11 before Atlanta was on the clock at #12, but there were still a pair of intriguing prospects on the board in big men Skal Labissiere and Henry Ellenson that Ferry probably should’ve taken a shot at. I get that Taurean Prince’s “three and D” style fits right into Coach Budenholzer’s system as SF DeMarre Carroll’s potential replacement, but Prince lacks any star upside -- which is exactly what the Hawks need, and furthermore, what you would expect from a lottery pick. If Ferry really wanted to go with a wing, I would suggest Turkish SG Furkan Korkmaz -- an excellent shooter with deep range with star potential. To be honest, although I’m usually a fan of Ferry’s genius, I’m not really so hot on this Teague-for-Prince swap.
Grade: C
Click here for link to Indiana Pacers Trade Grades
Click here for link to Utah Jazz Trade Grades
Pacers get: PG Jeff Teague
Jazz get: PG George Hill
Hawks get: #12 overall draft pick (via Utah) [SF Taurean Prince, Sophomore, Baylor]
There was some logic in the concept of moving Teague, I’ll give Hawks GM Danny Ferry that. Emerging young PG Dennis Schroder played fantastic last season in limited minutes, and with Teague’s $8 million contract expiring after this season and the team unlikely to have any desire to re-sign him given Schroder’s presence, trading him away now was the right call. Additionally, receiving a lottery pick gave Ferry increased flexibility on how he wanted to replace Teague -- both in that he can draft any type of player he wanted, as well as open financial flexibility.
But while this idea of keeping his options opened in that regard is true, it also isn’t necessarily true from a certain point of view. Ferry clearly went for youth on this trade, trading away a veteran in favor of a youngster in Schroder, while also acquiring a draft pick for said veteran. But Atlanta’s next three best players -- C Al Horford, PF Paul Millsap, and SG Kyle Korver, are already 30, 31, and 35 years of age respectively. Horford is also a free agent this summer, and Millsap (as well as Korver) the next. Is Ferry planning to re-sign them? How do you expect to hand the reigns of your franchise to players who are nearly a decade apart in age? Perhaps bringing back a more established veteran on the wing would have made more sense if Ferry plans to try and keep Horford around this summer; if not, however, then that’s a separate discussion.
Yet I might have been more sympathetic to Ferry’s cause had he utilized his pick more effectively. Given the uncertain long-term status of both Horford and Millsap -- with their age and upcoming free agencies and all -- adding another big man would have made a lot of sense. I understand that three important ones -- Poeltl, Maker, and Sabonis -- had all just been selected at 9 through 11 before Atlanta was on the clock at #12, but there were still a pair of intriguing prospects on the board in big men Skal Labissiere and Henry Ellenson that Ferry probably should’ve taken a shot at. I get that Taurean Prince’s “three and D” style fits right into Coach Budenholzer’s system as SF DeMarre Carroll’s potential replacement, but Prince lacks any star upside -- which is exactly what the Hawks need, and furthermore, what you would expect from a lottery pick. If Ferry really wanted to go with a wing, I would suggest Turkish SG Furkan Korkmaz -- an excellent shooter with deep range with star potential. To be honest, although I’m usually a fan of Ferry’s genius, I’m not really so hot on this Teague-for-Prince swap.
Grade: C
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