The Atlanta Hawks have had a rough start to this season, even with the addition of Kristaps Porzingis this summer. They lost three games so far and are currently 1-3 for the season after losing 123-128 to the Bulls at the end of their opening week.
The Hawks’ real problem is the lack of defense. And former Hawks player Jeff Teague also agrees with that sentiment. However, he chose to be a bit more specific about the Hawks’ requirements.
On the latest episode of the Club 520 podcast, Jeff Teague claimed that the Hawks need more “dark skinned” players to win.
“I don’t say anything bad about the Hawks because y’all know that’s my favorite team, but we got to get some dark skinned dudes… It ain’t nothing about being racist, like we need somebody with some grit,” said Teague.
“Even if we had a light-skinned dude like Dillon Brooks, like I like young Zak but…. nah!” said Teague about Zaccharie Risacher after a long pause. “I mean, he’s a good player, but we need somebody [better]… I’m not calling him tender, I ain’t gonna disrespect him.”
Teague’s words came out with the undertone that “light-skinned” players usually aren’t gritty on defense. Therefore, fans on social media felt that, despite Teague claiming that he is not trying to be racist, he may be inadvertently doing so.
In his comments, Teague also threw a subtle shot at the Hawks forward Zaccharie Rishacher. The former No. 1 overall pick has played in only two out of the Hawks’ four games this season due to a right ankle sprain. He has averaged 9.0 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks in those two games. It is a small sample size of games, but it can be said for certain that the forward has not played up to the expectations that one has from a No. 1 overall pick.
The sophomore forward sustained the injury in last Wednesday’s season-opening loss to the Raptors, during which he recorded 16 points, two rebounds, and one block, while shooting 33% from the three-point line in 21 minutes. With Risacher’s return, Nickeil Alexander-Walker will likely go back to the bench as he will start alongside Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, and Kristaps Porzingis.
In my opinion, the Hawks are way too early in the season to listen to such claims and consider making changes to the roster. This is just the first week of basketball that Porzingis has played with the Hawks’ core; they just need time to figure it out.
Daniels is a solid defender who can elevate to the potential Draymond Green/Dillon Brooks-type role that Teague was mentioning. However, considering that Teague is a former Hawks player himself who wants to fast-track their path to success by whatever means necessary, it is understandable if he lacks the patience to wait for this team to realize its potential.
Trae Young is up for a contract extension, Porzingis is on an expiring contract, Jalen Johnson is on the verge of taking an All-Star leap, and Dyson Daniels is one of the top five defenders in the league. While I see why the uncertainty drives Teague into unnecessarily pushing the Hawks to succeed from the onset of the regular season, he needs to reconsider his position on the Hawks only needing more “dark-skinned” players.
