Jamal Crawford

And-Ones: Team USA, Contracts, EuroBasket Qualifiers, BIG3

Team USA got revenge on the Select Team during Saturday’s scrimmage, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, who writes that the senior team won 84-61 after three periods, which were 10 minutes each.

As Vardon notes, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Brandon Ingram and Jaren Jackson Jr. started both days for Team USA. On Friday, Cameron Johnson was the fifth starter, while Anthony Edwards received the nod on Saturday.

Given that the team performed much better yesterday, it seems like Edwards might have the edge for a starting nod, though head coach Steve Kerr still isn’t ready to commit to anything.

Despite what he’s said publicly in terms of the lineup, it’s clear that Kerr has a major role in mind for Brunson, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

I think Jalen is such a natural leader,” Kerr said. “Because he’s a point guard, he immediately comes to mind. He’s the one who’s leading the ‘1, 2, 3 USA’ chant. Some guys just, it just comes naturally to them.”

With the Select Team heading home and the Americans having a non-contact practice on Sunday, the next test for Team USA as it prepares for the 2023 World Cup will come during Monday’s exhibition game against Puerto Rico, Vardon adds.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

  • Which NBA players have benefited the most from the salary cap rising 10% each of the past two years? ESPN’s Bobby Marks provides a chart (via Twitter) of salary comparisons over the past four league years, and notes the highest earners have actually received the biggest bump in terms of relative volume.
  • The 32-nation qualifying field for the 2025 EuroBasket tournament has been set, as Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando relays. The qualifiers will take place over three different windows between February 2024 and February 2025.
  • BIG3 co-founder Ice Cube has a handful of former NBA veterans on his wish list, including DeMarcus Cousins, Isaiah Thomas, Dwight Howard and Jamal Crawford, he tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (subscriber link). The 12-team 3-on-3 league started at the end of June and runs through August 26, with the championship held in London, England.

Jamal Crawford Joining TNT As NBA Analyst

Longtime NBA guard Jamal Crawford has reached an agreement to join TNT as an NBA analyst, reports Andrew Marchand of The New York Post. According to Marchand, Crawford will replace Dwyane Wade on TNT’s Tuesday night studio show, working alongside Shaquille O’Neal, Candace Parker, and Adam Lefkoe.

Wade, who holds a minority stake in the Jazz, decided not to return to TNT for the 2022/23 season after spending three years in an analyst role with the network.

Selected out of Michigan with the eighth overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft, Crawford played in 1,327 regular season games and another 74 playoff contests across 20 seasons for the Bulls, Knicks, Warriors, Hawks, Trail Blazers, Clippers, Timberwolves, Suns, and Nets. The three-time Sixth Man of the Year hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2019/20 season, but didn’t announce his retirement as a player until this March.

As Marchand notes in his story, TNT NBA studio jobs are among the most sought-after roles among basketball analysts, so Crawford has a great opportunity to establish himself in the media world on this season’s Tuesday broadcasts as he transitions into the next stage of his career.

Chet Holmgren Believed To Be OK After Rolling Ankle In Pro-Am Game

Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren had to leave Saturday’s Seattle pro-am game after rolling his ankle, but the injury doesn’t appear to be serious, tweets Nathan Thompson of Fox 23 Sports in Oklahoma. Thompson provides a video of the play, which happened early in the game as Holmgren was defending LeBron James on a fast break.

The contest, which featured an impressive array of NBA talent, had to be called midway through the second quarter because of unsafe court conditions, writes Kevin Pelton of ESPN. The combination of unusually humid weather and a crowd of nearly 3,000 people that packed the gym at Seattle Pacific University led to condensation issues that made the court too slippery to continue.

The decision to end the game was made after Bucks rookie MarJon Beauchamp slipped while attempting a layup.

“You don’t get a day like this often, but it’s my job to protect everybody’s safety,” said league founder Jamal Crawford. “On the court, I couldn’t risk those guys taking a chance of getting hurt. It’s not worth that. It’s supposed to drive inspiration and give hope and they did that. The job was accomplished.”

According to Pelton, fans began lining up Friday night in hopes of being admitted to the venue. Thousands of people were left outside once the small gym reached its capacity.

James received a thunderous ovation when the crowd first caught a glimpse of him, and tipoff was delayed as a group of fans surrounded him on the court. Crawford addressed the crowd over the PA system, asking for order to be restored amid a warning from Seattle police that the game might have to be shut down.

Once play began, Celtics star Jayson Tatum provided some early highlights, hitting three shots from three-point range and blowing kisses to the fans (video link). He also threw a lob pass to James at the end of the first quarter that resulted in a crowd-pleasing dunk.

“Obviously, everybody didn’t get in and everybody probably could never get in,” Crawford said after the game. “We tried to do the best we can. We tried to provide an experience that we’ve never had before. I thought that overall it was great because I think it’s moments and memories that the kids will never forget.”

LeBron James Among NBA Stars in Seattle Pro-Am League

LeBron James highlights a list of NBA players who will participate in a Seattle pro-am league later today, according to NBA.com.

The league is called “The CrawsOver” in honor of founder Jamal Crawford, a Seattle native and longtime NBA player. Announcing James’ participation on Twitter, Crawford promises it will be “a day like we’ve never seen.”

“A lot of kids in this area especially have only seen their favorite players whether it be on TV or on video games,” Crawford said on ESPN’s “NBA Today” (Twitter link). “To see their favorite players right there in person, to reach out and touch them. And they may have interaction with you. If you’re a kid working to get better and to dream about being on that level, that makes your dreams more realistic.” 

Crawford added that he asks the area kids which NBA players they would like to see and he tries to get them to attend.

James also tweeted about the event, noting that it’s his first game in Seattle in more than 15 years. He was the featured attraction last month in the pro-am Drew League in Los Angeles, which marked his first public game since the NBA season ended.

Established stars such as Jayson Tatum, Dejounte Murray, Isaiah Thomas and Aaron Gordon are also scheduled to play today, along with first-round picks Paolo Banchero, Chet HolmgrenTari Eason and MarJon Beauchamp. There could be an opportunity for Murray and Banchero to renew their rivalry that began with an incident at Thomas’ pro-am game two weeks ago.

Fans can watch the game live on both the NBA app and NBA.com. It’s scheduled to tip off at 8:30 PM Eastern Time.

And-Ones: Crawford, Micic, Dragic

Retired shooting guard Jamal Crawford reflected on his 20-year NBA run in a conversation with Bryan Kalbrosky of USA Today. Earlier this summer, the 6’5″ vet, a three-time Sixth Man of the Year, showed off his still-lethal handle at his yearly Seattle-based Pro-Am league the CrawsOver.

“I would always stretch and ice even if nothing was hurting,” Crawford, now 42, said of one of the keys to his longevity in the league. “I heard an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of recovery. I was always taking care of myself… I was always trying to think about the long game so I could play at a high level for a long time… I would’ve played even longer if I knew the stuff I know now.”

Across 1,327 career games played with the Bulls, Knicks, Warriors, Hawks, Trail Blazers, Clippers, Timberwolves, Suns and Nets, Crawford averaged 14.6 PPG, 3.4 APG and 2.2 RPG, while posting shooting splits of .410/.348/.862.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball globe:

  • After flirting with a move to the NBA this summer, star EuroLeague guard Vasilije Micic opted to remain with Anadolu Efes in Turkey. The Thunder continue to possess the draft rights to the two-time reigning EuroLeague Final Four MVP, who spoke to Rada Nikolić August of Sport Klub about his offseason decision . “I felt a slight mistrust from the direction of the strongest league in the world, which they have towards many, not only me,” Micic said, though he seemed open to keeping the door open to an eventual move stateside. “I really don’t think I’m going there to prove what and how much I can do. It’s nice like this for me, so if I go to America one day, it will happen…” Last year, the 28-year-old averaged 18.1 PPG, 4.7 APG, 2.3 RPG, and 1.1 SPG across 28 contests with Anadolu Efes in EuroLeague play.
  • New Bulls reserve point guard Goran Dragic is set to return to competition for his native Slovenia in EuroBasket 2022 this September, as he announced via Twitter. “I’M BACK,” the 36-year-old posted, along with a variety of descriptive emojis. Dragic had previously retired from playing for Slovenia in 2017, after helping the national club win its first-ever FIBA European championship in EuroBasket play. Dragic won the EuroBasket MVP award for his efforts, averaging 22.6 PPG in nine games. Dragic joined Chicago this summer following turns with the Raptors and Nets in 2021/22.

Jamal Crawford Announces Retirement

Veteran guard Jamal Crawford published a tweet early on Monday morning announcing his retirement as a professional basketball player.

“‘Goodbye to the game, all the spoils the adrenaline rush,'” Crawford wrote, quoting a Jay-Z song. Thank you basketball, I owe you everything …..✌🏾”

While Crawford’s tweet doesn’t explicitly state that he’s retiring, it seems pretty safe to assume that’s his intent.

The longtime NBA guard turned 42 years old on Sunday and hasn’t played in the league since he appeared in a single game for the Nets during the 2020 bubble at Walt Disney World.

Selected out of Michigan with the eighth overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft, Crawford played in 1,327 regular season games and another 74 playoff contests across 20 seasons for the Bulls, Knicks, Warriors, Hawks, Trail Blazers, Clippers, Timberwolves, Suns, and Nets.

Crawford averaged 14.6 PPG and 3.4 APG on .410/.348/.862 shooting in 29.4 minutes per game over the course of his career.

In his final non-bubble game, playing for the Suns in Dallas on the last day of the 2018/19 season, Crawford went off for 51 points. It was the most points he had scored in a game since 2007 and the second-highest mark of his career.

The Seattle native was a three-time Sixth Man of the Year, earning the honor in 2010, 2014, and 2016. He also won the league’s Teammate of the Year award in 2018.

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Caruso, Vogel, Magic, Augustin, Gabriel

LeBron James dropped 56 points on the Warriors Saturday night, leading the Lakers to a 124-116 win and ending a four-game losing streak, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. James shot 19-of-31 from the field, 6-of-11 from three, and 12-of-13 from the line while adding 10 rebounds and three assists in nearly 39 minutes of action.

The 56-point effort tied Trae Young‘s NBA season-high and is the most points LeBron has scored in a game for Los Angeles, Buha notes. James said he was just happy to get a win.

It’s funny, our guys were following me off the floor tonight going into the locker room and they asked me, ‘How does it feel to score 56?’” James said. “I said, ‘Right now, I don’t give a damn about the 56. I’m just happy we got a win.’ That’s just literally the first thing that came to my mind.”

James’ spectacular performance was historic for a couple other reasons, Buha writes. He passed Karl Malone for the most combined regular season and postseason minutes, and became just the fourth player to record 50-plus points in a game at age 37 or older, joining Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Jamal Crawford.

There’s really no words for it,” coach Frank Vogel said of James’ 56-point game. “An incredible performance by the best to ever do it, in my opinion, and as I’ve said.”

The Lakers have had an undeniably disappointing season, barely clinging to the No. 9 seed in the West with a 28-35 record, but James has been consistently great on offense. He’s now tied with Giannis Antetokounmpo for second in the league in scoring with 29.4 points per game, just a tenth of a point behind Joel Embiid‘s league-leading 29.5. It’s James’ highest scoring average since 2009/10.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

  • A source tells Marc Stein of Substack that James was a leading supporter of Alex Caruso and badly wanted the Lakers to re-sign him, but the team declined to offer Caruso a contract comparable to the four-year, $37MM deal he received from the Bulls last summer due to luxury tax concerns. Caruso was having a strong season for Chicago, but has played just 28 games to this point and is currently sidelined with a fractured right wrist.
  • Appearing on NBA Today, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (video link) that the Lakers haven’t moved on from Vogel due to long-term injuries to Anthony Davis and Kendrick Nunn, and more importantly the front office doesn’t think that replacing Vogel would make a difference in the team’s performance. “(The Lakers) would like to get through the rest of this season with Frank Vogel,” Wojnarowski said.
  • Prior to Saturday’s game, in an appearance on NBA Countdown (video link), Magic Johnson said the trade for Westbrook “could go down as the worst trade in Laker history” if L.A. is unable to advance past the play-in tournament.
  • D.J. Augustin and Wenyen Gabriel are eager to make an impact with their new club, according to Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group. “I know they haven’t been playing up to everybody’s expectations, I would say,” Augustin said of the Lakers. “But it’s the NBA, and things happen. But we’re still in a good position where we can still have a chance. And that’s all you need in this league, is a chance.”

And-Ones. P. Gasol, Mozgov, Crawford, Draft, More

A pair of longtime NBA big men returned to action in Europe this week after lengthy layoffs.

The most notable of the two, Pau Gasol, played for the first time in over two years on Friday, taking the court for Barcelona in EuroLeague play. He logged 13 minutes vs. Bayern Munich, recording nine points and four rebounds (AP story via ESPN).

Meanwhile, in Russia today, Khimki Moscow center Timofey Mozgov appeared on Monday in his first game in nearly three years, per Sportando. Mozgov was last on an NBA roster during the 2018/19 season, but he didn’t appear in a single game with Orlando that year due to knee issues.

Those issues persisted after Mozgov signed with Khimki in 2019, and the NBA even permitted the Magic to remove Mozgov’s cap hit from their books last season since his injury was viewed as potentially career-ending. His return today represents the culmination of a long, impressive comeback.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Veteran guard Jamal Crawford, who turned 41 in March, is staying ready in the hopes of receiving another NBA opportunity, he told Matthew Brooks and Alec Strum of NetsDaily. “We actually have talked to a couple of teams, so we’re seeing where it goes,” Crawford said when asked about the possibility of a 10-day deal. “We’ve had conversations, which is the good thing.”
  • Although there has long been an expectation that the NBA and NBPA will eventually agree to tweak the league’s one-and-done rule for the draft and let high school players enter again, there haven’t been any meaningful talks between the two sides on the subject for months, sources tell David Aldridge of The Athletic.
  • Using the Hornets’ success with their trio of LaMelo Ball, Devonte’ Graham, and Terry Rozier as a jumping-off point, Louis Zatzman of FiveThirtyEight explores whether lineups that feature three point guards might become more common among NBA teams.
  • During a recent appearance on Mike Krzyzewski‘s “Basketball and Beyond with Coach K’ show, NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the league’s complicated relationship with China. Kurt Helin of NBC Sports relays some of Silver’s key quotes.

New York Notes: Randle, Rivers, Luwawu-Cabarrot, Crawford

Julius Randle became the symbol of free agency disappointment for Knicks fans last season, but he has shown signs of a turnaround this year, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Randle was among several veteran free agents brought in on short-term deals after New York missed out on its primary targets during the summer of 2019. Bondy notes that Randle has lost weight and looks like a different player so far.

“I ran pretty much every day during the offseason. Like I said, that was just a challenge for me to get in extreme condition or whatever it is,” Randle said. “That’s just what I challenged myself to do every day. Yeah, I dropped a little bit of weight but the biggest thing was just pushing myself just to run every day and just challenging myself in that way.”

New coach Tom Thibodeau said he noticed the difference in Randle when he reported for the team’s voluntary training camp in September. Thibodeau has given Randle control of the offense, and he’s averaging 24.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists through the first four games.

There’s more from New York:

  • The Knicks are encouraged by the progress of free agent addition Austin Rivers, who has been sidelined by a groin injury but went through he first contact drills Monday, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. “There’s a progression to coming back,’’ Thibodeau explained. “He was doing condition without contact. Then it goes to one-on-one controlled movements. Then progressed to two-on-two. And then three-on-three. We’re on the three-on-three phase right now. It’s day-to-day on how he feels and whether we get to the next step. There’s more steps to take. He has to play five-on-five and practice with the team. He’s still a couple of steps away.’’
  • Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is making a bid for more playing time following the season-ending injury to Spencer Dinwiddie, writes Mollie Walker of The New York Post. Luwawu-Cabarrot was used as a starter Monday and responded with 21 points, six rebounds and two steals in 40 minutes. “TLC has just been really steady,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said. “Very trustworthy defensively. Knows the system. Is very attentive to his responsibilities, and he’s been shooting the ball. He’s played within himself. He’s doing very well.”
  • The Nets have remained in contact with veteran guard Jamal Crawford and may consider him as a replacement for Dinwiddie, states Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Crawford signed with the Nets for last season’s restart, but appeared in just one game before getting injured.

Jamal Crawford Wants To Return Next Season

40-year-old Nets guard Jamal Crawford hopes to return to the NBA for the 2020/21 season, per Marc Stein of the New York Times.

Crawford unfortunately logged just five minutes of action in one game for Brooklyn during the NBA’s Orlando restart due to a hamstring injury. If the three-time Sixth Man of the Year is able to play next season, it would be his 21st in the league.

A versatile backcourt scorer famous for his mean crossover, Crawford has played for nine NBA clubs, most notably as a key contributor off the bench for the Clippers and Hawks. He signed with the Nets as a substitute player for the Disney World summer restart after several Brooklyn players opted out due to injuries or the novel coronavirus.

Stein noted that Nets All-Star forward Kevin Durant recently intimated that he has interest in Crawford returning to the Nets during the 2020/21 season.

“With a whole, healthy roster,” Crawford said, “anyone would love that opportunity.”

The Nets will presumably have championship aspirations provided that Durant and fellow All-Star Kyrie Irving are fully recovered from injuries that derailed their 2019/20 seasons. Durant, recuperating from an Achilles tear, did not play at all this year.

Adding Crawford to at least Brooklyn’s training camp roster, perhaps on a partially-guaranteed veteran’s minimum contract, would be a nice low-cost way to bring veteran leadership with proven scoring acumen to the Nets bench.