The Suns have officially filled the 15th spot on their regular season roster by signing Jamal Crawford, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. The team created a roster opening on Tuesday by waiving Davon Reed.
Crawford, a three-time Sixth Man of the Year winner, reached an agreement with the Suns on Monday and has now signed a one-year, minimum salary contract with the club.
Per the NBA’s log of transactions, Crawford’s signing was completed on Tuesday, the first day of the regular season. As such, he should receive a full-season minimum salary rather than a prorated portion of the minimum. He’ll earn $2,393,887 and will count for $1,512,601 against Phoenix’s cap.
Although several teams – including the Warriors, Celtics, Sixers, and Lakers – reportedly showed interest in Crawford over the course of the offseason, he had trouble finding a new NBA home after averaging 10.3 PPG on .415/.331/.903 shooting for the Timberwolves in 2017/18. The 38-year-old could have exercised a $4.5MM player option in June to stay in Minnesota, Crawford didn’t love the role he played with the Wolves and sought a better fit, turning down that option and hitting the open market.
Crawford’s new team, the Suns, likely envisions the veteran in a ball-handling role. Besides Isaiah Canaan, Phoenix doesn’t have another experienced point guard on the roster — rookies De’Anthony Melton and Elie Okobo will provide depth at that spot after the team waived Shaquille Harrison this week.
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Besides Reed and Harrison, the Suns also cut Darrell Arthur, clearing the way for Crawford, Richaun Holmes, and Canaan to make the team. Holmes and Canaan both have non-guaranteed deals.
Crawford isn’t expected to be active for the Suns’ home opener against Dallas tonight, head coach Igor Kokoskov said today (Twitter link via Gina Mizell of The Athletic).
Smells like 27 wins. Lol