Never a Marquis Pick

One of my more common themes this season has been the minimal impact made by Marquis Teague.  Failing to perform up to par when called upon and being assigned to the D-League made me wonder just what kind of impact he would eventually have here.  The answer is none.

With the front office's patience apparently having run as thin as the fan base's, Teague was dealt to the Brooklyn Nets for forward Tornike Shengelia.  However, the trade won't be official until the league's office reopens for business Tuesday.  Teague's immediate departure would leave the Bulls below the 12-player minimum on game night, so in one of the most unusual arrangements you'll ever hear of, Teague dressed during last night's win over Philadelphia and will also do so tomorrow when the Lakers come to town.  He's already logged his last minutes for the Bulls, but it has to feel awkward putting on the uniform of a team he no longer works for.

In 67 career games for the Bulls, Teague averaged just 2.1 points and 1.4 assists.  This season, he shot 24 percent from the field.  By trading the Kentucky product, Gar Forman and John Paxson indicated they were pessimistic that those numbers were going to improve under the circumstances and the system Tom Thibodeau runs.  He's far behind where Jimmy Butler was during his sophomore campaign a year ago.  Perhaps with guidance from Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Deron Williams and rookie head coach Jason Kidd, Teague will get opportunities that would never have been available here.

Shengelia is in a similar boat as Teague.  He's 22, in his second NBA season and has spent time in the D-League.  In 36 career games, all with the Nets, the 6-9 forward has averaged 1.5 points, one rebound and shot 45 percent.  Granted, he's only attempted 47 shots, but with luck, that's an indication of what will be a productive NBA career for the Georgia native.  Of course, the question is now whether he'll be battling Erik Murphy as to who can get more playing time.  My reasoning is if the Bulls bothered to trade for him, he should see the floor a bit.

As for Teague, I feel a little bad that he barely got a chance here and was very unimpressive when he did.  He's only 20, so he's got some time to show he belongs in this league.  He just needs a system that will allow him to thrive to the best of his abilities.  In the end however, whether he actually does is up to him.  The best thing for him to do is take his Chicago experience and build upon it.  He can only get better from here, so I wish him luck in his future endeavors.

Like I indicated earlier, the Bulls will host the Lakers tomorrow in an MLK Day matchup.  It was originally supposed to be on TNT, but thanks to the injuries to Derrick Rose and Kobe Bryant, the national interest evaporated, so it will just be locally televised instead.  Regardless of the circumstances, I hope Teague takes one last chance to soak in the atmosphere of his about-to-be former home arena.  There's nothing else like it in the NBA, so all players who come through Chicago are very lucky.