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Former Atlanta Hawks point guard Jeff Teague, who flew under the radar during his 12-year NBA career, has unexpectedly become a viral podcast star this offseason. He has been making the rounds on various podcasts, telling humorous stories from his playing days and showcasing his outgoing personality.
During a recent appearance on the “Club 520 Podcast,” Teague was asked if he ever had a "wink-wink" agreement with a team that didn’t work out. He then narrated a story about the time former Hawks general manager Danny Ferry tricked him during his restricted free agency in 2013.
Teague first spoke about how he and Ferry had animosity toward each other leading up to his free agency.
“When I was a restricted free agent, I was with Atlanta, and Danny Ferry hated me,” Teague said.
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“I was his least favorite player. I remember he came into the locker room one day and was like, ‘I just really don’t like you.’ I was like, ‘Damn.’ He was like, ‘I don’t like how you walk, I don’t like how you talk, I just don’t like you.’ I was like, ‘Alright, cool. I don’t like you either.’”
Teague said that Ferry told him that he would be able to leave the Hawks in free agency. This was because Atlanta had no plans to match any offer sheet that he signed.
“So, I was going to be a restricted free agent, and he told me I was going to be able to leave or whatever,” Jeff Teague said.
According to Teague, he started listening to offers from interested teams from around the league. He then agreed to terms on a four-year, $32 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Shortly after, Teague took the opportunity to call Ferry and take one final shot at his boss before his imminent departure.
“So, we start contract negotiations and I had to go find a deal,” Teague said.
“I go find a deal with Milwaukee. So, imagine calling your boss and being able to tell them everything you ever wanted to say because you ain’t going to get into trouble, there ain’t going to be nothing. Man, I told him everything I hated about him. ‘I hate how you talk, I hate how you walk.’ I told him everything I hated about him.
“He was like, ‘That’s cool, I respect that, I respect that. Well, you have a good time and good luck in Milwaukee.’”
Teague later signed his new deal with the Bucks and began to celebrate. However, just four minutes after he signed his offer sheet, Ferry and the Hawks decided to match Milwaukee’s offer. Ferry then called Teague and told him that he would see him back in Atlanta.
“I signed the deal, everybody in Milwaukee was high-fiving,” Teague said.
“We were like, ‘Yeah! Let’s go look for a place to stay.’ It hit 12 o’clock — that’s when the deal can be finalized — they send the paper over. He called me at 12:04 and was like, ‘Well, that's how we do business, see you back in Atlanta next week.’”
Jeff Teague later finished his career in Milwaukee
While Jeff Teague was unable to join the Milwaukee Bucks in 2013, he later signed with the team in April of 2021.
Teague proceeded to play just 21 regular-season games and 16 playoff games with the Bucks. However, he rode the coattail of Bucks superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo en route to his first and only NBA title in 2021.
Teague then concluded his NBA career, going out as a champion.
