Point guard Jeff Teague‘s departure from the Timberwolves was “very difficult'

Point guard, Jeff Teague‘s departure from the Timberwolves in a trade with the Hawks completed on Friday felt fairly inevitable… to Jeff Teague. “I came from the [Tom Thibodeau] regime, and I knew they [GM Gersson Rosas and head coach Ryan Saunders] wanted to get their guys in there,” Teague explained, according to The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner.

“It was very difficult because I went there to play with Thibs, Jimmy [Butler], [Derrick] Rose and Taj [Gibson],” Teague continued. “That’s what I had envisioned for my whole time that I was going to be there.”

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

• Intriguing rookie Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. has shown enough defensive improvement to lock in rotation minutes for coach Michael Malone, according to Mike Singer of the Denver Post. Since Christmas, Porter has been averaging nearly 11 PPG on a team-high 65.4 percent field goal percentage, including 48.3 percent from long distance. But Malone had special praise for his defense. “You see the improvement,” Malone said. “Understanding what our game plan is, what our rules are.”
• Yesterday’s five-player trade that sent Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver and two second-round draft picks to the Kings in exchange for Trevor Ariza, Wenyen Gabriel, and Caleb Swanigan and saved the Trail Blazers $12.6M off their cap bill this season. John Hollinger of The Athletic speculates that the Trail Blazers may be making further deals to get the team under the tax line for even more savings. Portland currently sits at a paltry 18-26 record and the No. 11 seed in the West, three games behind current N0. 8 seed Memphis.
• After Jazz forward Royce O’Neale inked a four-year, $36M extension today, Utah GM Justin Zanik and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Dennis Lindsey spoke with reporters, including Aaron Falk of Jazz.com, about the deal. Lindsey spoke to the import of complementary role players like O’Neale as they build a contender around centerpieces Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. “It goes beyond Donovan and Rudy,” Lindsey said. “As Donovan’s and Rudy’s decisions come up, they can see a core they can win with and see that we’re serious.”