Jeff Teague
Sophomore, Wake Forest
NBA Position: PG/SG
H: 6'2, W: 180 lbs, Age: 20 (21 on June 10th)
Jeff Teague's an interesting prospect. He's incredibly skilled offensively and can take opponents off the dribble at will due to his outstanding ball handling with either hand. He excels at getting into the lane and drawing fouls or finishing at the rim and is equally skilled going left or right. Teague can create his own shot at will, and he's an aggressive scorer who wants the ball in his hands.
When Teague gets into the lane he does a nice job creating shots
for other players on kick outs, or dump offs to teammates. On the
downside, Teague seems to play largely at one speed, which is full
speed, because of this he can get out of control at time driving into
walls of players when he should be more patient and give up the ball
earlier.
That aggressiveness causes lots of turnovers giving him a very poor
assist to turnover ratio for a PG prospect. It's not all bad though
as Teague's capable of delivering some breathtaking passes on his
penetration, but he's just a very high risk player and letting the game come to him more would help considerably.
Teague needs the ball in his hands to really play well.
This might be a tough adjustment for him on the next level as he
doesn't possess the qualities of a good floor general, nor the size of
a pure SG. He may be well suited to bringing instant offense off the
bench and providing a spark in a lineup where he can be the primary
ball handler against second team defenses.
However, he does display deft touch from the outside. His 44% three point
percentage was very impressive and Teague made a bunch of threes from
well beyond the college three point line as well. The three point
shooting suggests that he might be able to adjust to an off the ball
role as a spot up shooter as well as an occasional on the ball player.
Defensively he's mediocre. He gives up quite a few blow bys, and
doesn't always contest shots. His effort and focus are both
inconsistent on the defensive end. He'll have to defend the PG
position at the next level while maybe not being able to play a point
guard role on offense.
Teague's an interesting fit at the next level, he's your classic SG
trapped in a PG body and whether he can make a transition to play PG or
find a team that can figure out a way to fit him in will determine how
well he does. His strength is his creation ability for himself and others, but he doesn't bring much else to the table in terms of defense, rebounding, or overall floor game.
Filed under: Draft Coverage
Tags: chicago bulls, draft, Jeff Teague, nba, prospect, wake forest
Teague is an intriguing prospect, although one who would really be a luxury for the Bulls as presently constituted. If they trade Hinrich before the draft, Teague could conceivably be the best available player of need at 16. If he fell to 26, which would be hard to fathom, he would be a steal there.
I'm still hoping that we trade the picks as part of a bigger deal for a dominant PF. But I guess that goes without saying.