NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 potential destinations for Jeff Teague

3. New York Knicks

Teague isn’t quite the kind of point guard Knicks President Phil Jackson has featured throughout his basketball career, but he’s close enough. If New York continues to run the Triangle offense, Teague would be quite a good addition. His ability to shoot off the catch and drive through small windows in the defense would help the Knicks offense even more than Derrick Rose did last year.

However, his defense would be nearly as poor. Teague is an undersized player who teams like the Cavaliers can easily manipulate. Cleveland put him in pick-and-roll coverages that he had no chance to execute. The Knicks are looking to take a step forward, and with several good offensive players already on the roster, their real need is consistent defense. Teague won’t provide that.

He could easily fit into New York’s cap room, though, and is a good player. They don’t have a ton of those, and could be losing two more in Rose and Justin Holiday. If the team decides to learn further into coach Jeff Hornacek’s up-tempo, loosy-goose style, Teague could excel. Kristaps Porzingis does not yet consistently create offense for himself, and Teague could help as a safety valve for the young big man. For a rebuilding team like the Knicks, there are a lot of benefits to using some cap room on a shorter deal for a proven offensive talent that will make the team better.

After spending money on Rose and other below-average veterans over the past few seasons, Teague represents an upgrade.