NBA Trade Rumors: Philadelphia 76ers Could Make Late Bid For Atlanta Hawks’ Jeff Teague Or Dennis Schroder

NBA trade rumors are really heating up with the NBA trade deadline expiring in a few hours. One of the more interesting late rumors is that the Philadelphia 76ers could make a late push and try to pry either Jeff Teague or Dennis Schroder from the Atlanta Hawks, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Sixers (8-45) are still trying to find an identity as they go through the third year of their rebuild. Philadelphia obviously has a lot of issues, as the Sixers rank in the bottom third of nearly every offensive and defense categories. They have an overabundance of frontcourt players and are razor thin at point guard in terms of talent. A trade for Teague or Schroder would make sense, as Atlanta has been said to be looking to start its rebuilding process.

Teague has picked up his production in February after struggling for much of the season. He has scored in double-figures in 10 straight games and has doled out at least five assists in seven of those contests. The 27-year-old is averaging 20.0 points along with 5.5 assists while shooting 51.1 percent from the floor and 53.8 percent from beyond the arc in six games in February.

Teague is super quick and is very good in pick-and-roll situations. He struggles with turnovers and is nothing special on defense. Teague also has drawn interest from several other teams such as the Utah Jazz and New York Knicks.

Schroder, like Teague, is very quick and gets to the basket at will, but the 23-year-old has taken more three-pointers than Teague and is not the shooter that he is. Schroder is a good distributor but gets overpowered defensively due to his slight build.

Schroder is averaging 10.7 points and 4.5 assists while shooting 41.3 percent from the floor and just 33.3 percent from beyond the arc this season.

Philadelphia currently has Ish Smith, Isaiah Canaan, T.J. McConnell, and Kendall Marshall as point guards on their roster. Smith’s production has slowed down since his hot start with the Sixers after coming over from New Orleans. Smith is not a shooter and is a volume scorer, so while he would be decent off the bench, he is not a starter at the NBA level.

Canaan is also a scorer who is a decent three-point shooter, the problem with the 25-year-old is that he is not a distributor and a weak defender. McConnell leads the team with 4.9 assists a game and is a very hard-nosed player though he is not an elite shooter. Marshall is a pass-first point guard who struggles with turnovers and is his defense is a concern.

Smith will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, and Canaan will be a restricted free agent.

It is believed that the 76ers would be willing to take on salary if they are also willing to stockpile draft picks. However, Inquisitr reported that the Sixers were “gauging the market” for rookie Jahlil Okafor. And according to sources, it will likely take Okafor or Nerlens Noel to be offered in order for the Hawks to take the bait.

Okafor is too talented to trade at this point, and he and Noel haven’t had a chance to really play together that much to make a real decision whether the youngsters can play together or not. Plus, the Sixers best option is to trade Joel Embiid, who has been injured the last two years and really hasn’t done anything to garner the hype he has.

Philadelphia made three trades prior to the deadline last season, picking up Canaan along with JaVale McGee and several draft picks. The Sixers traded away K.J. McDaniels and Michael Carter-Williams. However, don’t expect the Sixers to make a deal this year, not that general manager Sam Hinkie shouldn’t be looking like team chairman of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo said he was.

“I think Sam, like every other president and general manager in the league, is busy on the phones just to see what’s there. That doesn’t mean that we are committed to making a deal. Far from that.

“I think you always have to be aware of what the market is for acquiring something or considering a trade. But we are not actively looking to do deals.”

[Photo by John Raoux/Associated Press]