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Wolves trade Jeff Teague to Hawks

Former Atlanta guard back with team he played for from 2009-16

The Atlanta Hawks have reunited with an All-Star guard from their past.

In a deal first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Hawks have sent Allen Crabbe to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for guard-forward Treveon Graham and former Hawks guard Jeff Teague. The teams confirmed the deal on Thursday afternoon.

Teague played for the Hawks from 2009-10 to 2015-16, earning an All-Star bid in 2014-15 after he averaged 15.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game.

Teague is averaging 13.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg and 6.1 apg this season for Minnesota, appearing in 34 games with 13 starts. For his career with Atlanta, Teague averaged 11.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg and 5.0 apg in 439 games (305 starts) and ranks fifth all time in franchise history in assists (2,671). He will likely serve as a backup to Hawks star guard Trae Young, who currently ranks third in the NBA in scoring (29.1 ppg) and fourth in assists (8.5 apg).

The Hawks originally parted with Teague in the summer of 2016, trading him to the Indiana Pacers as part of a three-team deal that saw the Utah Jazz acquire George Hill and the Hawks get Taurean Prince. In the summer of 2017, Teague agreed to a reported three-year, $57 million deal with the Wolves as Minnesota aimed to make a playoff push.

The Timberwolves were busy in the summer of 2017, adding Teague and veteran big man Taj Gibson in free agency while also working an offseason trade for All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler. While the moves paid off in a playoff trip, the Wolves were swept in the first round of the 2018 playoffs by the Houston Rockets. From there, Minnesota’s promising future fell apart as Butler demanded a trade early in 2018-19 and the Wolves went from 47-35 to 36-46 last season.

Graham has been a regular rotation player for the Wolves, averaging 5.2 ppg in 20.1 mpg. The undrafted swingman is on his third team in four seasons. Crabbe was also a role player for the Hawks, averaging 5.1 ppg in 18.6 mpg.

Kevin Smith of Yahoo Sports reports this trade may just be the beginning of more deals for both the Hawks and Wolves. The teams have struggled so far this season, with Atlanta as the Eastern Conference’s worst team at 9-32 while Minnesota is 15-25 and No. 12 in the West, 3 1/2 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 8 spot.

Teague, Crabbe and Graham will all be unrestricted free agents this summer. The Hawks have some additional expiring contracts on their roster — most notably Chandler Parsons and Evan Turner — who could garner interest in the market, Smith reports.

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