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Source: Sixers contact Hawks about point guards

The 76ers have contacted the Atlanta Hawks about their desire to trade point guard Jeff Teague or backup Dennis Schroder, a league source said.

The source said the Sixers have not made a trade offer for either of the two. Mutliple league sources said they don't expect the Sixers to make a serious push for one of the point guards before the Feb. 18 trade deadline.

That's because centers Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor have the biggest trade value on the team. As a result, teams have been calling about those two. However, the Sixers don't want to part ways with either until they know if Joel Embiid, a third center, will be healthy enough to play.

Embiid, the 2014 third overall draft pick, has yet to play because of right foot surgery in each of the past two summers.  So if the Sixers do trade one of their centers, it probably won't happen until this summer.

However, the Hawks have been actively shopping Teague since last month.

Atlanta reportedly has had trade discussions with Teague's hometown Indiana Pacers. The Pacers would consider giving Atlanta point guard George Hill, according to reports.  The Orlando Magic, for shooting guard Victor Oladipo, could be another destination for Teague, according to reports. A league source believes the Utah Jazz would be solid place for Teague. However, the source believes the Jazz would have to give up Rodney Hood to make the deal work. He doesn't think Utah is prepared to part ways with the 6-foot-8 shooting guard.

Teague will become a free agent after the 2016-17 season. The Hawks are interested in trading him because Schroder has improved to the point that they believe he can become their starting point guard. So if they trade one – most likely, Teague – they likely would shore up another position in the trade.

Teague's numbers are slightly down from last season, when he averaged 15.9 points and 7.0 assists while making the all-star team.  This season, he's averaging 15.1 points and 5.4 assists in 28 minutes.

Meanwhile, Schroder, a third-year veteran, is averaging 10.8 points and 4.5 assists in 20 minutes.

Follow and contact Inquirer 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers and on Instagram at PompeyOnSixers