The Atlanta Hawks have acquired the draft rights to Taurean Prince, the 12th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, from the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team trade, it was announced today by General Manager Wes Wilcox. As part of the deal, the Hawks will send guard Jeff Teague to Indiana and the Jazz will receive guard George Hill from the Pacers.
“Taurean has many of the qualities that we value in our program…we are excited to add his competitiveness, toughness, versatility, and desire to improve,” Wilcox said. “We would also like to thank Coach Scott Drew and Baylor Basketball for their help throughout the scouting process. Taurean is eager to get started and we look forward to beginning his development with our coaches and athletic performance team.”
“I would like to thank Jeff for his seven years with the organization, and our three years together,” said Hawks President of Basketball Operations/Head Coach Mike Budenholzer. “Jeff developed into a key contributor and played an integral role in the team’s recent success. We wish him well in the next chapter of his career.”
Prince, a four-year letterman at Baylor, averaged 15.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 34 games as a senior while garnering First Team All-Big 12 honors. The 6’8 forward was also named Second Team All-Big 12 as junior as well as the league’s Sixth Man of the Year after recording 13.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.3 assists in 33 contests. Prince owns career averages of 10.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting .460 from the field, .376 from three-point range and .718 from the free throw line in 129 games.
Teague, an Indianapolis native, comes to the Pacers from the Atlanta Hawks as part of a three-way trade. The Pacers send guard George Hill to Utah and the Jazz send the 12th overall pick in June’s NBA Draft, Baylor’s Taurean Prince, to Atlanta. Young was acquired from Brooklyn in exchange for the Pacers’ first-round pick (20th overall) in the June draft, Michigan’s Caris LeVert.
“We want to thank George for his five seasons with us,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “He’s a great guy who did a lot for the community. We wish him nothing but the best. With Jeff, we think he brings something we haven’t had in a true point guard. We think he fits in with what we’re trying to do. He has speed, the ability to create for others and he can score. We look forward to working with him.
“Thaddeus is a long, athletic power forward who can defend multiple positions. He was a 15-point scorer last year and averaged nine rebounds a game. We think he’s a good fit between Myles (Turner) and Paul (George).”
Teague, 28, grew up in Indianapolis (Pike High School), played collegiately at Wake Forest and was a first-round pick (19th overall) of the Hawks in 2009. In seven seasons with Atlanta, Teague averaged 12.0 points and 5.0 assists. Last season, he averaged 15.7 points and 5.9 assists per game. In 2015, he was named to the NBA All-Star team.
Hill (6-3, 188, IUPUI) appeared in 74 games (73 starts) for the Pacers this season, averaging 12.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting a career-high .408 (128-314) from three-point range in 34.1 minutes of action. Hill’s seventh-seeded Pacers then pushed second-seed Toronto to seven games as he averaged 13.6 points on .481 (13-27) three-point shooting.
Originally selected in the first round (26th overall selection) of the 2008 NBA Draft by San Antonio, the 30-year-old guard has appeared in 550 career games (325 starts) over eight seasons with San Antonio and Indiana, and owns career averages of 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists and .376 three-point shooting in 28.8 minutes. His teams have made the playoffs in seven of his eight seasons and he has appeared in a total of 75 playoffs games (64 starts) averaging 12.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.1 steals and a .371 three-point percentage. Hill helped the Indiana Pacers to two straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances in 2013 and 2014.
Prior to the NBA, the Indianapolis native played four seasons at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (2004-08) where he was named The Summit League Player of the Year (2008) and All-Summit League First Team twice (2006, 2008). For his collegiate career, Hill appeared in 94 games and averaged 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 33.4 minutes.
He will wear uniform #3 for the Jazz.
