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Teague, who has been consistently fingered as in a crossroads in his career gets the vote of confidence from NBC Sports' D.J. Foster, who believe that Teague compares very well with San Antonio's Tony Parker.
PG: Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks
Where have we seen a player like this before? Blazing speed. Killer floater in the lane. Undersized. Rough as a distributor and distance shooter, but a natural scorer around the rim. That's right - Jeff Teague is the closest thing we've got to the next Tony Parker, and maybe it's not a coincidence that both players had nearly identical numbers through their first three seasons in every way.
Pretty sure every single Hawks fan that has breathed a breath since Parker became a pro in 2001 would take Teague becoming Tony Parker, Part Deux. Would be especially sweet since Parker could have/should have been a Hawk in that 2001 draft, until then-GM Pete Babcock famously, well, chickened out on taking Parker, not being sure if his game would translate to the NBA.
Yeah, well, yeah.
Ok, so let's say Teague doesn't quite get to Parker's level in year four in the L, but takes steps in that direction. That would mean he would begin to own the court as a playmaker -- getting his big involved on the break as well as the splendid shooters the Hawks have -- all while breaking down the defense with the ball and making those teammates that much more effective.
He does that and he'll be moving forward greatly from his current spot at the crossroads -- and likely making Foster look pretty good for making him his breakout candidate at point guard.
Exit Question: On a scale from 1 to 100, with 100 being Parker and 1 being a complete collapse, where do you see Teague coming in this season?