ESPN's Marc Stein reported in this week's weekend dime that the Kings offered the Hawks 6'11" power forward Jason Thompson in a deal centered around point guard Jeff Teague.
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It wasn't long ago that Thompson, selected with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2008 draft, and Spencer Hawes were being touted as the Kings' frontcourt tandem of the future.
Now?
Thompson is averaging just 15.4 minutes per game off the bench and has been shopped by the Kings, who according to one source with knowledge of the talks offered the 6-11, 250-pounder to Atlanta in a deal featuring young point guard Jeff Teague. The Hawks declined.
Obviously the Hawks had to turn this deal down as it is reported due to the lack of available point guards on the roster. It hasn't happend yet but I actually still believe that the plan is for Teague to garner more of a defined role as the season goes along. He is the only guard on the roster than would have a remote chance in defending the league's quicker point guards.
I have long been a fan of Thompson and would love to see him as a back up power forward on this team. He is still on his rookie scale contract and is making a little over 2 million dollars this season. Still with the way this Hawks team is presently constructed, this deal can't be completed in my opinion.
Interesting enough that this is the second rumor in the last couple of weeks that has popped up with Jeff Teague's name in it.