NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 potential destinations for Jeff Teague

1. Indiana Pacers

The incumbent is often the best bet for a free agent destination. They offer familiarity as well as a financial advantage and the benefit of having wanted that player enough in the first place to go get them. Teague will have to sift through these competing ideas about the Pacers to determine whether or not they present the best basketball situation for him.

Teague has earned about $44 million already in his playing career, so it’s possible that the financial advantage the Pacers possess may not matter to him. It’s also possible that the advantage won’t come into effect, as the extra years and dollars that the team can offer him really only kick in on maximum contracts. He just turned 29 and his best playing days may be behind. Teague is a player who was never dominant on offense and a legitimate liability on defense, so he’s not quite worth the max. That means the Pacers won’t be able to woo him with the largest paycheck.

However a veteran like Teague could look at the competitiveness of the Indiana team that just traded for him over the last half-decade and see a good opportunity. There is a good defensive foundation in place for at least one more season with Paul George and Myles Turner, so Teague could relax into more of a playmaker’s role on this increasingly young team. Though they underperformed last year, they improved their shooting drastically and could see improvement from several players.

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If Teague is content with a leadership role on a growing team, the Pacers present a nice opportunity in the weaker NBA conference to lead an offense and help his team take the next step. Paul George’s impending free agency represents a question mark, but the league is so fluid at this point that it’s hard to bank on roster consistency regardless of the organization. Staying with the Pacers seems like the best bet for Teague.