Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

“I did not want to go to Minnesota” – Teague makes BOLD statement on signing with Wolves

Teague took us back to 2017 when he signed a three-year $57 million deal with the Timberwolves.

Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Former NBA point guard, Jeff Teague shared a bitter story about his signing with the Minnesota Timberwolves. While speaking on the Club 520 Podcast, the 36-year-old discussed how he did not want to join the Timberwolves. Teague continued his talk and shared untold stories about his time with the Wolves.

“My career was literally over once I went to Minnesota” – Jeff Teague

Jeff Teague did NOT want to go to Minnesota 😭😭😭

“I went and died. My career was literally over when I went to Minnesota.”

(via @club520podcast)pic.twitter.com/QXoccxo3c8
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) November 15, 2024

“I did not want to go to Minnesota. No shade to Minnesota cuz y’all lit now, but when I was in the league, Minnesota was a place to go to die,” Teague speaks on the podcast. “I went and died. My career was literally over once I went to Minnesota. I literally went for the money.”

Teague took us back to 2017 when he signed a three-year $57 million deal with the Timberwolves. He left the Indiana Pacers where he averaged 15.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game. Before signing with Minnesota, he became the first Pacers player to start 82 games since Mike Dunleavy Jr.

The former Pacers star was asked by the co-hosts of the podcast how quickly he signed a deal with the Wolves. Teague said at first he refused and cost himself money. He also shared how he got a message from the Indiana Pacers general manager that the franchise will call him soon. “I got less money cuz I didn’t sign it fast enough. I refused,” Teague said. “I wanted to stay with the Pacers. The Pacers were on a flight, (general manager Kevin) Pritchard was like, ‘Alright we are going to call you when we land.’

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Kings, Jazz and Pacers were secondary options for Teague

Tague added an important aspect of the deal, “(Then-Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau) called me earlier that morning and was like, ‘Yo, we are going to offer you three-years, $63 million’ or something like that. My options were Sacramento, Utah, or the Timberwolves or the Pacers. I’m like ‘This some bad a** options.'”

Teague’s agent was supposed to crack the deal with the Wolves at around $60-65 million. Timberwolves coach called the agent and talked about the three-year contract, worth $57 million. Teague added further on the story, “My agent was like, ‘Alright, we are going to sign.’ So he called me back like, ‘Well we signed with the Timberwolves.‘

“I could have signed 4-5 hours earlier and got more money. I wasn’t feeling Minnesota and honestly Minnesota probably wasn’t feeling me,” Teague added more.

Teague went on to play 146 games for the Wolves and ended up averaging 13.4 points, 7.1 assists and 2.8 rebounds. In January 2020, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in the exchange for Allen Crabbe. He later moved to Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks. He won his first-ever NBA Championship in his final season with the Bucks.

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A native of Jaipur, Rajasthan, journalist, and a complete soccer and basketball fan, he found the huge interest with basketball by watching videos of Allen Iverson and Tony Parker, but fell head over heels in love with the sport during the Warriors’ championship era (2015-2018). A sports game addict since his late PS1, he’s also passionate about the Eagles, Inter Miami and the Fever. He’s fortunate to have seen all his favorite teams win championships. He also has a special love for cricket and football (soccer), where he is a fan of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barcelona.