Should the Hawks Sign DeMar DeRozan? Jeff Teague Says Yes

The Atlanta Hawks made one of the biggest acquisitions of the NBA offseason in forward Lu Dort. Some believe that their biggest move should still be to come.

Specifically, former Hawks guard-turned-podcaster Jeff Teague has opinions. The 2015 All-Star thinks the Hawks need a more offensive-minded addition to their roster. He's even got a player in mind, as he said on the Club 520 Podcast:

Teague thinks the Hawks should go after free agent wing DeMar DeRozan.

Let's talk about DeRozan.

He's a six-time All-Star who made the All-NBA Second Team in 2017-18. DeRozan's talent is undeniable. He's one of the craftiest scorers of his generation. DeRozan's footwork, balance, and overall skill will be remembered long after he retires:

Which, incidentally, is something he'll be doing soon.

That's the first knock against DeRozan. He turns 37 on Friday. This is a player nearing the end of his NBA career.

There's also a reason why he's still a free agent. Sacramento waived him on July 6 after two unproductive years alongside De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, guaranteeing only $10 million of his $25.7 million salary, and he hit the open market on July 8. He's since been linked to Miami, Detroit, Toronto, Golden State, Denver, Cleveland, and most recently Washington, which Shams Charania of ESPN reported had opened conversations. Nobody has signed him.

In 2025-26, DeRozan averaged 18.4 points per game while shooting 32.0% from deep. He had a minus-0.1 Box Plus/Minus (BPM). It's been a criticism of DeRozan for some time now. While his talent holds, there have been questions as to whether he actually contributes to winning when he's on the floor. DeRozan's a low-volume, low-efficiency three-point shooter who doesn't offer much on the defensive end.

Yet, for the right price, the Hawks should take a look at him anyway.

Looking at the Hawks' depth chart, there's a tremendous amount of talent. The team is deep with quality role players as well. If they're missing anything, it's someone to carry the team's second unit.

If they do retain Jonathan Kuminga, it could change the calculus. That would be a strong role for him if the Hawks are willing to experiment. If Kuminga broke out as a sixth man, that would do more for the team's long-term outlook than giving DeRozan that role.

On the other hand, this isn't a rebuilding team. Kuminga's more likely to be impactful playing off DeRozan as a roll man. Moreover, whether Kuminga will even be on the roster is still unknown as of this writing.

So, at a veteran's minimum, DeRozan would be a smart acquisition. If any rival team is willing to give him more than that, the Hawks should pass. At this stage in his career, DeRozan is too flawed to commit any meaningful amount of cap space to:

And after adding so much talent, the Hawks have little left in the first place. Atlanta sits near the luxury tax and the first apron after guaranteeing Buddy Hield's $9.6 million and re-signing Jock Landale at $14 million, and the team was carrying 17 standard contracts against a 15-man regular-season limit even before any Dort extension talk. Teague's idea only works at the bottom of the pay scale, and the front office has reasons to be skeptical even there.