How Long Have Brad Stevens, Celtics Been Eyeing Jeff Teague?

Jeff Teague is taking his talents to Boston.

But how long have the Celtics — namely head coach Brad Stevens — been eyeing the veteran point guard?

Stevens and Teague, for one, both hail from Indiana. Teague played ball at Pike High School while Stevens served as Butler’s head coach, but wound up attending Wake Forest in North Carolina instead.

According to Celtics reporter Sean Grande, however, Stevens had his eye on the budding star since his high school days. Butler simply was too small a school for for Teague’s liking at the time, though.

But there’s some physical evidence of Stevens’ continued interest in Teague. Back in January 2015, he heaped praise on the point guard, then with the Hawks, after Atlanta beat Boston 105-91 at TD Garden.

“I think you have to look and redefine who the superstars are with our own eyes every day,” Stevens told reporters, via The Athletic’s Jay King. “… And I don’t know what qualifies as a superstar but I know this: nobody in the league can keep Jeff Teague in front of them. Nobody.”

Very interesting.

It’s unclear exactly how long the Celtics have been specifically targeting Teague, but Stevens evidently has had his eye on him for quite some time. We’ll see how well they mesh now that they’ve reportedly joined forces.