DECEMBER 18TH, 2:25pm: Crawford “can be had” before the trade deadline, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
DECEMBER 10TH, 2:53pm: The Clippers are surveying the interest that other teams have in trading for Jamal Crawford, league sources tell Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter link). Crawford was a frequent subject of trade rumors in the offseason, when reports indicated the team explored trading him around draft time and that the Knicks, Heat and Cavs had interest. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports suggested this week that the Clippers remained open to dealing the 35-year-old shooting guard amid a report that the team recently gauged interest in Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith.
Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers denied on multiple occasions in the past few days that he’s spoken to anyone about Stephenson and Smith, and he said in September that he’d be “very surprised” if Crawford doesn’t remain with the team through the rest of the season. Any trade talk the Clippers are engaging in at this point is exploratory, a source said to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. Crawford tweeted during the summer that he wished he were a free agent but said at the start of training camp that he was glad to still be with the Clippers.
The offseason additions of Stephenson, Wesley Johnson and others made it seem as though Crawford, a two-time Sixth Man of the Year, would have a reduced role with the team this season, but so far his minutes have been consistent with the playing time he saw last year. His shots per game are down, from 13.1 to 11.4, and he’s connecting on just 36.8% of his field goal attempts, his worst percentage since his rookie season. The upgraded Clippers bench of which Crawford is a part hasn’t seemed to click thus far, but L.A. is still in fourth place in the Western Conference, at 13-9, and just a half-game out of third.
Crawford is in the final year of his contract, which pays him $5.675MM. He’s eligible to be traded immediately, though many others around the league will become trade-eligible Tuesday, so deals are generally more likely from that date forward. It’s unclear if Miami, Cleveland or New York maintains interest.
What should the Clippers demand in return for Crawford? Leave a comment to give your input.
Nothing Clippers do will help the team win more games. Let’s admit it, this team ain’t gonna win the championship this year. Re-signing DJ was great, but he can’t score even if his life is counted on it. What Clippers need is another solid 20ppg scorer behind CP3 and Blake. Can we get that by trading Jamal? Heck no. Therefore, this team is doomed!
I’ve been scoring 20+ points the last 7 games.
Trade him. He is getting older and that means he’s gonna keep getting worse. Should trade him for a young player to develop
I wonder if it’s coincidence that this came up at the same time the Knicks say they’re looking for backcourt help. Crawford could be the explosive scorer they’ve missed since they traded J.R. Smith.
could we trade Crawford for a real GM? I’m not a fan of a coach trying to be the GM as well and Doc needs to put his ego aside and let a real GM take control of this team.
A competent back-up point guard that actually realizes he has teammates to pass to (cough, cough, Austin Rivers, cough, cough).
Crawford for Calderon could fit the bill for both teams
J.J Reddick for Taj Gibson straight up.