ATLANTA (AP) — Jeff Teague says he couldn't be happier to be back with his adopted hometown team.Teague, in his 11th NBA season, was hoping to return to his original club as a free agent this summer, but a trade from Minnesota two days ago landed him back with the Atlanta Hawks earlier than expected. No longer a starter, Teague entered Saturday's game against the Detroit Pistons midway through the first quarter to a modest standing ovation, playing alongside fellow point guard Trae Young, the NBA's third-leading scorer. The Hawks' plan, though, is to mostly use Teague as Young's primary backup.“I always wanted to come back," Teague said. "Those things just kind of run through your head. I looked at their team, their need and things like that. I thought they might need me, a backup veteran that can help a little bit and try to help lead the guys. I thought that would be my role.”Teague, who finished with 15 points and seven assists in 25 minutes in a 136-103 loss to Detroit, kept a home... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Jeff Teague says he couldn't be happier to be back with his adopted hometown team.Teague, in his 11th NBA season, was hoping to return to his original club as a free agent this summer, but a trade from Minnesota two days ago landed him back with the Atlanta Hawks earlier than expected. No longer a starter, Teague entered Saturday's game against the Detroit Pistons midway through the first quarter to a modest standing ovation, playing alongside fellow point guard Trae Young, the NBA's third-leading scorer. The Hawks' plan, though, is to mostly use Teague as Young's primary backup.“I always wanted to come back," Teague said. "Those things just kind of run through your head. I looked at their team, their need and things like that. I thought they might need me, a backup veteran that can help a little bit and try to help lead the guys. I thought that would be my role.”Teague kept a home in the metropolitan Atlanta area, even after getting dealt from the Hawks, whom he helped advance... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Jeff Teague says he couldn't be happier to be back with his adopted hometown team.Teague, in his 11th NBA season, was hoping to return to his original club as a free agent this summer, but a trade from Minnesota two days ago landed him back with the Atlanta Hawks earlier than expected. No longer a starter, Teague entered Saturday's game against the Detroit Pistons midway through the first quarter to a modest standing ovation, playing alongside fellow point guard Trae Young, the NBA's third-leading scorer. The Hawks' plan, though, is to mostly use Teague as Young's primary backup.“I always wanted to come back," Teague said. "Those things just kind of run through your head. I looked at their team, their need and things like that. I thought they might need me, a backup veteran that can help a little bit and try to help lead the guys. I thought that would be my role.”Teague kept a home in the metropolitan Atlanta area, even after getting dealt from the Hawks, whom he helped advance... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — With the Minnesota Timberwolves committed to a new style of play, Jeff Teague didn't fit the trend.The Timberwolves traded the 11th-year veteran point guard to his original team Thursday in a three-player swap of backups with the Atlanta Hawks, who sent shooting guard Allen Crabbe in return.The Timberwolves also dealt shooting guard Treveon Graham, creating a roster space for potential other transactions prior to the Feb. 6 trade deadline. It was the first significant in-season move by new president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, who let the first wave of players acquired by the previous regime go last summer soon after he was hired.Teague, who played his first seven NBA seasons with the Hawks after they made him the 19th overall pick in the 2009 draft, went to his only All-Star game in 2015 for Atlanta.Crabbe is a better stylistic fit for the fast-paced, 3-point-favoring offense the Wolves have transitioned to under Rosas and first-year coach Ryan Saunders.... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves traded 11th-year veteran point guard Jeff Teague to his original team Thursday in a three-player swap of backups with the Atlanta Hawks, who sent shooting guard Allen Crabbe in return.The Timberwolves also dealt shooting guard Treveon Graham, creating a roster space for potential other transactions prior to the trade deadline Feb. 6. It was the first significant in-season move by new president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas.The 31-year-old Teague, who's making $19 million, and the 27-year-old Crabbe, who's earning $18.5 million, are both playing on expiring contracts. Graham is only signed through this season, too.Teague averaged 13.4 points and 7.1 assists in 146 games with the Timberwolves over 2 1/2 seasons, a well-respected leader in the locker room whose time with the team was hampered by knee and ankle injuries. He played in only 42 games last season and was moved into a reserve role two months ago, with Shabazz Napier and Jarrett... [More]

Preseason numbers often mean almost nothing. Rotations are unusual, starters rarely play much, and few if any teams are putting a premium on winning games.As such, it's tough to glean much from exhibition stats.But what the Boston Celtics and New Orleans rookie Zion Williamson — the No. 1 pick in this year's draft — have been doing so far in the preseason certainly stands out.The Celtics are 3-0 after beating Cleveland on Sunday — and have put together a huge run in all three of those games. The latest was a 50-17 spurt against the Cavaliers, a game that was close for most of the first quarter before Boston built what eventually became a 54-point lead.Boston's other big runs of note in this preseason were a 41-17 stretch last Sunday against Charlotte, and opening the game with a 29-4 burst at Orlando on Friday. On top of the 50-17 run against the Cavs, they added a 26-8 run in the fourth quarter as well.No matter who the Celtics have on the court, defense has been the constant. Boston is... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves have finalized the acquisition of six players for roster depth and reserve roles, including a sign-and-trade deal with Portland for forward Jake Layman.The Timberwolves then completed a trade with Golden State as part of the deal that sent D'Angelo Russell from Brooklyn to the Warriors, bringing guard Shabazz Napier and forward Treveon Graham to Minnesota for the rights to Israeli forward Lior Eliyahu. The Wolves also announced Monday the signing of free agent forward Noah Vonleh and rookie guard Jarrett Culver and the claiming of guard Tyrone Wallace off waivers from the Los Angeles Clippers.Most of the deals were agreed to last week before the NBA's free agency moratorium was lifted. Culver, the No. 6 overall pick from Texas Tech, was acquired from Phoenix in the draft-day deal that sent No. 11 pick Cameron Johnson and forward Dario Saric to the Suns.Vonleh signed a one-year, $2 million contract. Layman, who was acquired for the rights to Montenegrin forward Bojan Dubljevic, received a three-year, $11.5 million deal.___More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports