Milwaukee Bucks Ink Veteran Guard Jeff Teague for Backcourt Depth

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed guard Jeff Teague to fill a void in their roster and add another veteran with playoff experience.

Milwaukee only has one true point guard in their roster in Jrue Holiday after they moved back-up D.J. Augustin in the deal that brought highly-sought-after forward PJ Tucker to the Bucks last March 19th.

While their Eastern Conference rivals Brooklyn and Miami went big with their star acquisitions, the Bucks have been busy solidifying a lineup that had the NBA’s best regular season record during the previous two seasons. Milwaukee came up short twice in the playoffs but more than star power, it’s veteran support in the playoffs that they badly need and they’ve done their best to fill that hole.

The best NBA betting sites currently have them as one of the Top 5 favorites to win the 2021 NBA title at +900 via SportsBetting.ag Milwaukee is 29-17 on the season and is just three games off the Eastern Conference lead with still plenty of catch-up games left. Adding a veteran in Jeff Teague isn’t a game-changer but will make the Bucks a more solid and complete team heading to the postseason.

Reunited With Coach Bud

Teague was the 19th overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks. He played 34 games for the Boston Celtics this season and averaged 6.9 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. Playing in his 12th NBA season and 5th NBA team, Teague was part of the March 25 trade between the Celtics and Orlando Magic that sent Evan Fournier to Boston. He was waived by the Magic after the deal.

The 32-year old will be reunited with head coach Mike Budenholzer who coached him in Atlanta from 2013-2016. Under coach Bud, Teague had the best seasons of his career, including the 2014-15 campaign where he averaged 15.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 1.7 steals per game while earning his first and only All-Star selection.

Milwaukee hopes that his familiarity and success with Budenholzer’s system will revive his career, even as a back-up. Teague also has valuable playoff experience as he has appeared in a total of 71 playoff games with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers, and Hawks. He has a postseason average of 13.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game and is a career 35.9% three-point shooter.

Adding Austin Rivers Too?

Teague will make $860,773 with Milwaukee with a cap hit of $543,888. Milwaukee will go from $1,248,028 in Luxury Tax space to $701,140 and still have around $3M under the hard cap. They still have one more roster spot after signing Teague and the rumors are that they are adding another veteran guard to fill that slot- Austin Rivers.

Rivers was waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder after acquiring him in a three-team deal with the Knicks and 76ers. He played for the Knicks this season, averaging 7.3 points and 2.0 assists per game in 21 total games. Like Jeff Teague, Rivers also has playoff experience, having played 45 postseason games with the Houston Rockets and L.A. Clippers, with averages of 7.4 points and 2.2 assists per game.

Adding Rivers will solidify further a Milwaukee backcourt that already has Jrue Holiday, Donte DiVincenzo, Bryn Forbes, and Teague. Milwaukee’s main goal this season was to strengthen their guard position. They traded Eric Bledsoe for Holiday, then added Forbes before the season. With Teague, and hopefully Rivers, too, Milwaukee certainly has one of the deepest backcourt rotations in the league. Not star-studded, but overall very solid.