NBA trade news: Celtics, Knicks eye Hawks' Al Horford and Jeff Teague
The Boston Celtics and New York Knicks are rumored to be on the move after the Atlanta Hawks put their All-Star tandem Jeff Teague and Al Horford on the trading block.
With a 27-20 record, the Hawks do not look like a team that would explore the trading season, especially with Horford, the franchise’s cornerstone, and Teague. But with the competition getting stiffer in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks have made two of their best players available to other teams.
According to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Mannix, the Hawks are willing to listen to offers for Teague, who declined in his outputs after being named an All-Star last season. Teague is recording a dip in averages with the Hawks, posting only 14.3 points and 5.6 assists per game on 41.3 percent shooting from the field.
Hawks had been soliciting offers for Teague or Dennis Schroder, per rival execs. Though recently they have focused more on Teague.
— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixYS) January 27, 2016
The Knicks have been looking for a point guard who could elevate the team as a legitimate title contender and further push their hopes for a playoff run. While Teague would be an instant upgrade over Jose Calderon, Ian Begley of ESPN believes it would be difficult for the Knicks to orchestrate such a deal, considering their cap space for this summer’s free agency.
Knicks have limited assets, may have to get creative to land Teague. Yahoo! earlier reported ATL was listening to offers on the PG (2/2)
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) January 27, 2016
Meanwhile, Adrian Wojnarowski revealed on the Vertical Podcast the Hawks could “push the reset button” and, along with Teague, trade away Horford, whose contract expires after the NBA 2015-2016 season. Wojnarowski added that the Celtics could be interested in Horford as the team’s general manager Danny Ainge has long been looking for a star the team is lacking.
"Al Horford is a free agent this summer,” Wojnarowski said. “They're not sure he's going to stay, whether they're going to keep him. There's a chance this Atlanta team pushes the reset button here at some point."
According to Kevin O’Connor of SB Nation’s Celtic Blog, acquiring Horford this season would not be a bad idea for the C’s, who are poised to make the postseason with a 26-21 record. O’Connor also noted how Horford’s “two-way ability” would fit nicely with Brad Steven’s style of play.
“Adding Horford to an already strong Boston roster this season could put them in a position to make a strong push in the playoffs,” O’Connor wrote. “That could set the Celtics up as a top destination for top players this summer who are available either in trades or free agency.”
The only factor that may hinder such a deal would be the competition in the East. The Knicks, Celtics, and Hawks are both competing in the same conference, so it is unlikely Atlanta would trade their trade assets to these teams unless there are enticing offers on the table.
Nevertheless, the Hawks seem to be inclined to deal away Teague rather than Horford as the team already has an ideal replacement in third-year point guard Dennis Schroeder, who is averaging 10.9 points and 4.8 assists in limited minutes.
