"That S*** Was Terrible": Ex-NBA All-Star Jeff Teague Blames Minnesota Timberwolves For 'Ruining' His Career

One bad move can completely change the direction of an NBA career and Jeff Teague believes that is exactly what happened to him in Minnesota. Years after leaving the Timberwolves, the former All-Star has opened up about the frustration and regret tied to his spell with the franchise. What once looked like a major free agency opportunity soon turned into losing seasons, trade uncertainty and a steady decline in his standing around the league, with Teague now convinced the move played a huge role in derailing his career.

Now retired and thriving through his “Club 520” podcast, the former Atlanta Hawks guard spoke bluntly while revisiting that chapter. His comments brought back memories of the Timberwolves' messy years, locker-room instability and how a veteran player's value can fall once a team starts losing consistently.

Jeff Teague revisits Timberwolves trade nightmare in brutal NBA confession

Looking back on his Minnesota stint, Teague made it clear the frustration still lingers. The veteran point guard, who arrived after signing a three-year, $57 million contract in 2017 free agency, admitted he regretted joining the franchise almost immediately after things began collapsing internally.

“That s*** was terrible,” Teague said of his Minnesota Timberwolves stint. “We had that first year. After that, we were some s***… That first year was fun. Then Jimmy that second year… wow, they ruined my career.”

The move ended up changing everything for Teague. Before joining Minnesota, he had built a strong reputation as a reliable starting point guard and reached the playoffs every season with the Atlanta Hawks, along with another postseason run during his year with the Indiana Pacers in 2017. But once the Timberwolves started struggling again after their brief playoff success, Teague felt his standing around the league dropped quickly. “I shouldn't have went there,” he admitted, before later adding, “Hope somebody come save me.”

When discussing why the situation hit him so hard professionally, Teague pointed directly to the losing culture that followed. “I made it to the playoffs every year before that.”

Timberwolves collapse changed Jeff Teague's NBA future

Minnesota initially looked like the perfect opportunity. During Teague's first season, the Timberwolves snapped a 14-year playoff drought by winning 47 games and securing the Western Conference's eighth seed. Their run ended fast against the Houston Rockets, who closed out the first-round series 4-1, but optimism around the roster remained high at the time.

Everything unravelled after that. Jimmy Butler's dramatic fallout with the organisation triggered instability across the roster and the Timberwolves crashed to a 19-45 record during the 2019-20 season. Teague was eventually traded back to Atlanta in exchange for Allen Crabbe, effectively closing the chapter he now views as the beginning of his decline. “And then, once you're on a bad team, and you're a little older, and you don't get traded to a playoff team, they trade you to another bad team. It just started going downhill.”

Teague played his final NBA season with the Milwaukee Bucks during their 2021 championship run before stepping away from the league at 32. Since then, he has rebuilt his profile through media, podcasting and coaching at Pike High School in Indianapolis, but his bitterness towards the Timberwolves years clearly has not faded.