The Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to sign unrestricted free agent point guard Jeff Teague to a contract that will pay him $57 million over three years. The contract cannot officially be signed until the end of the NBA’s moratorium period on July 6th.
Shams Charania of The Vertical broke the news right at midnight on Saturday:
Jeff Teague has agreed to a three-year, $57M deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, league sources tell The Vertical. 3rd-year player option.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2017
Jeff Teague Agrees to Three-Year Contract With Minnesota Timberwolves
Teague’s contract will take him through the end of the 2019-20 season. He has a player option for the third year, meaning that Teague can choose to opt out and become a free agent again in 2019.
Teague averaged 15.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game last season for the Indiana Pacers. Starting all 82 games, Teague became the first Pacer to start every regular season game since Mike Dunleavy in 2008. A regular feature in Indiana, Teague helped Nate McMillan’s team secure a playoff spot. Alongside Myles Turner and Paul George, Teague was a key player. Swept in the first-round of the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Teague averaged 17 points and 6.3 assists over the four games.
Looking forward, Teague will provide solid guard play, capable of scoring and creating whilst consistently running an offense at the point guard position for Minnesota. An All-Star in 2015, Teague will look to regain that form for his new team. The Timberwolves will need Teague to provide strong play at the point guard spot in order to contend for their first playoff appearance in more than a decade – and possibly a high seed in the Western Conference – during the 2017-18 campaign. Teague replaces long-tenured point guard Ricky Rubio in Minnesota, who was traded to Utah just hours before the beginning of free agency.
Teague is heading into his ninth season in the league, during which he’ll be 29 years old. Until this point, he’s played for just two teams. Starting his NBA career with the Atlanta Hawks, Teague was traded to Indiana in 2016. After eight seasons in Atlanta, Teague joined the Pacers, going on to average a career high in assists last season.
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