The Atlanta Hawks will retain point guard Jeff Teague by matching the four-year, $32 million offer sheet extended to him earlier this week by the Milwaukee Bucks, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The move leaves Milwaukee back at square one after courting Teague of late.
NBA free agency: Jeff Teague staying with Hawks, according to report
It appears Jeff Teague won’t be heading to Milwaukee after all, as the Hawks appear prepared to match the offer sheet to the restricted free agent.
One of the top restricted free agents on the market, Teague got surprisingly little attention from suitors as the market quickly dried up. With few remaining teams claiming salary cap space and a need at point guard, Teague essentially was left to choose between Milwaukee and Atlanta before agreeing to the deal with the former.
However, the Hawks always retained the right to match any offer sheet signed by Teague -- before Saturday night’s deadline, it appears they will do just that. Considering the relatively affordable terms Milwaukee agreed to offer, it’s not surprising Atlanta ultimately will simply match it.
In recent days, it appeared increasingly likely that Teague would be on his way out of Atlanta, with one report claiming the guard told Hawks GM Danny Ferry he wanted to “move on” from the organization. That may still be true, considering he signed a deal to leave the club, but for now he’s stuck on the team for the next four years.
During the 2012-13 season, Teague averaged 14.6 points, 7.2 assists and 1.5 steals in 80 games. Coming off the breakout performance, he gets a hefty and well-deserved raise this summer.
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