Jamal Crawford Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Harris, Crawford, Ujiri, Sixers, Celtics

August 20th, 2020 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets will be without sharpshooter Joe Harris and veteran scorer Jamal Crawford for Game 3 and Game 4 of their series against Toronto, head coach Jacque Vaughn confirmed today. Crawford continues to be hampered by a hamstring strain, while Harris left the NBA’s campus on Wednesday.

According to Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link), teammate Tyler Johnson said today that Harris’ absence is related to an emergency family matter. A source close to Harris tells Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link) that the situation is “day-to-day,” with the 28-year-old’s return date and quarantine period still up in the air. If the Nets can’t pick up a win over Toronto, Harris’ season will be over and he’ll be headed to unrestricted free agency this fall.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Following the release of new footage from last June’s altercation with a security guard at Oracle Arena, Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri said in a statement that the video “sadly demonstrates how horribly I was treated by a law enforcement officer” as Toronto won its first NBA championship. As we noted on Wednesday, Ujiri has filed a countersuit in the matter.
In the wake of a dispiriting Game 2 loss to Boston, the Sixers‘ season is on the brink and the team’s disappointment is rising, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com covers similar ground, suggesting that the post-“Process” 76ers almost look like they need to be blown up.
Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston explores how Al Horford‘s departure a year ago created a murky future for the Celtics, and how Kemba Walker‘s arrival brightened that future.
Celtics guard Marcus Smart will be under the microscope with Gordon Hayward sidelined, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.

New York Notes: LeVert, Crawford, Pinckney, Knicks

August 17th, 2020 at 4:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Kyrie Irving isn’t playing for the Nets this summer, but he’s staying connected with the team, having called Caris LeVert to talk to his teammate after the end of the seeding games last week.

“I talked to Ky (on Friday) morning, talked about the games and playoffs coming up and giving me encouragement,” LeVert told reporters, including Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “He’s watching all the games. He’s been in this position before, fighting for something.”

LeVert, who was named to the NBA’s All-Seeding Games Second Team over the weekend, has been the Nets’ leading scorer and primary play-maker during the restart. Assuming he’s still on the roster next season, he’ll share those duties with Irving and star forward Kevin Durant.

Here’s more on the Nets and New York’s other NBA team:

Nets guard Jamal Crawford still isn’t ready to return from his hamstring strain. According to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link), head coach Jacque Vaughn said today that Crawford will miss the “first few games” of the series vs. Toronto before being re-evaluated.
Veteran assistant coach Ed Pinckney, who was on Tom Thibodeau‘s staffs in Chicago and Minnesota, isn’t a candidate to join Thibodeau with the Knicks, a source tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link). As we’ve heard throughout the month, Mike Miller and Mike Woodson remain good bets to join the Knicks as assistants.
The Knicks have hired Kelsey Roberts as a database/basketball analyst, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Roberts previously interned for Indiana and Miami.
In case you missed it, we previewed the Knicks‘ 2020 offseason earlier this afternoon.

Nets Notes: Harris, Crawford, Durant, Dinwiddie

August 14th, 2020 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets will have plenty of key decisions to make this fall, including who will become their permanent head coach and whether they should package some of their talent in an effort to trade for another impact player. However, GM Sean Marks isn’t underestimating the importance of re-signing veteran sharpshooter Joe Harris.

“Priority No. 1,” Marks said of locking up Harris, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “It’s that simple, yeah. … Signing him and seeing him with this group will certainly be a priority for us.”

Harris, who signed a two-year, $16MM contract with Brooklyn in 2018, figures to be in line for a raise this offseason and it could be a substantial one. He has become one of the NBA’s most consistent outside shooters, knocking down 44.8% of his three-point attempts over the last two seasons, and will be one of the top UFAs in a somewhat weak market.

The Nets already have about $133MM in guaranteed money on their books for next season, per Basketball Insiders, which will almost certainly make them a taxpayer. They’ll have to weigh how much more they’re willing to pay to retain Harris.

Here’s more on Brooklyn:

The Nets have been so impressed by Jamal Crawford‘s leadership skills this summer – as well as the offensive ability he has shown in limited practices – that they’re seriously considering adding him to their roster for the 2020/21 season, sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Kevin Durant (Achilles rehab) and Spencer Dinwiddie (contracted COVID-19 in June) aren’t participating in the restart this summer, but they’re among the Nets players working out and playing pickup ball in Los Angeles. Chris Milholen of NetsDaily has the details and the video.
If the Nets go star-hunting this offseason, Caris LeVert is one player whose name could come up in trade rumors. However, LeVert has shown with his play this summer that he may be capable of complementing Durant and Kyrie Irving himself. After scoring 37 points on Thursday, LeVert earned praise from Damian Lillard and was referred to as “the best kept secret in the NBA” by Crawford (via Twitter).

New York Notes: Nets Guards, KD, DSJ, K. Payne

August 11th, 2020 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Both Tyler Johnson and Chris Chiozza will be free agents at the end of the 2019/20 season, as Johnson signed a one-year contract in June and Chiozza’s two-way deal is expiring as well. However, the two guards are making a strong case to be considered for next season’s Nets roster, as Tom Dowd of BrooklynNets.com writes.

The Nets’ rotation has been in a state of flux this summer due to injuries, opt-outs, COVID-19 cases, and some lineup experimentation. However, Johnson and Chiozza have often shared the backcourt as part of the club’s second unit, and the pairing has worked. Entering today’s game, Chiozza is averaging 9.2 PPG and 5.0 APG in six games during the restart, while Johnson has contributed 11.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 2.8 APG.

“I think it’s a great combination; two guards that can pass and shoot pretty well,” Chiozza said, per Dowd. “He’s a smart player so it’s easy to play with him. He knows how to move when I’ve got the ball and I feel like we get each other a lot if open shots.”

Meanwhile, veteran guard Jamal Crawford was supposed to be a backcourt contributor for the Nets this summer after signing as a substitute player, but has been limited to just six minutes due to a hamstring injury.

Despite not playing much, Crawford has provided great leadership for the Nets, including Caris LeVert, head coach Jacque Vaughn said this week (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of The New York Post). According to Vaughn, Crawford may not return before the seeding schedule ends, but the team remains confident he can contribute this summer.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:

When the Nets clinched a playoff spot, it assured injured star Kevin Durant of a $1MM bonus, as Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter). Because the bonus had been considered “likely” rather than “unlikely,” earning it this season won’t impact Durant’s cap hit for 2020/21.
Former lottery pick Dennis Smith Jr. finds himself at a crossroads as he enters a contract year under new Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. One scout who spoke to Berman is curious to see how the team handles Smith in ’20/21. “He’s certainly not a Thibs kind of player, but let’s see how committed they are to getting him right,” the scout said. “You don’t want to force it because they traded (Kristaps) Porzingis for him. Knowing when to cut bait is important. There may be too many things to fix with him.”
New Knicks assistant coach Kenny Payne is primarily known for three things, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News: recruiting, relationships, and developing frontcourt players. As Bondy writes, the Knicks will hope that Payne can assist in their efforts to attract stars to New York.

New York Notes: Walker, Fine, Durant, Fizdale

August 7th, 2020 at 8:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kemba Walker‘s interest in signing with the Knicks as a free agent last summer was “very serious,” the Celtics guard said in a Ringer podcast (Twitter link). The New York native revealed that “before Boston actually came along, the Knicks were one of my top priorities. I was thinking they were going to get another player (top free agent) but it didn’t work out.” Walker wound up agreeing to a four-year, $141MM max contract with Boston.

We have more on the New York teams:

The Nets were fined $25K for failing to comply with league policies regarding the reporting of injuries, according to an NBA.com post. The fine was not related to public injury reports distributed to the media, but rather something related to its own internal database, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets.
If Kevin Durant has his way, he’ll be playing next season with Caris LeVert, Chris Chiozza and Jamal Crawford. Durant praised the trio on the Play for Keeps podcast, Lewis relays. That could influence the way the Nets approach roster changes in the offseason. LeVert is considered to be the Nets’ best asset to acquire a third star but Durant may feel differently. “[LeVert] is definitely better than I thought,” Durant said. Chiozza is on a two-way deal, while the veteran Crawford was signed as a substitute player for the restart.
Ex-Knicks coach David Fizdale endorses his former team’s selection of Tom Thibodeau as its new head coach, according to Ian Begley of SNY. Fizdale made his comments during a Sirius XM Radio interview. “I think (Thibs) is a great hire. I think Thibs is a hell of a coach,” Fizdale said. “He demands hard work and toughness out of his guys.”

Atlantic Notes: Crawford, Walker, Robinson, VanVleet

August 5th, 2020 at 7:25pm CST by Jovan Alford

On Wednesday night, Nets interim head coach Jacque Vaughn told reporters that guard Jamal Crawford will miss a few games with a strained hamstring, per Nick Friedell of ESPN (Twitter link).

Crawford suffered the injury in the second quarter of Tuesday’s afternoon game against the Bucks. It was the 40-year-old’s first game with Brooklyn after not playing in the team’s previous games and scrimmages.

Crawford only played six minutes off the bench, scoring five points and dishing out three assists. Without Crawford for the foreseeable future, the Nets could turn to Tyler Johnson and Timothe Luwawu-Caborrot, who started in place of Joe Harris and Caris LeVert.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic Division:

According to Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, point guard Kemba Walker is expected to receive more minutes on Friday night, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link). The veteran point guard played 27 minutes on Tuesday against the Heat, scoring 15 points. Stevens also added that Walker isn’t expected to be on a minutes restriction when the playoffs start later this month.
In an interview with Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic, Sixers forward Glenn Robinson III talked at length about his experience being a veteran inside the bubble. Robinson, who was traded from the Warriors in February, believes he was acquired not only for his shooting and defense, but also for his leadership. “I think I was brought on this team for some of that. I feel like they know how I am in the locker room,” Robinson said. “I get the respect of every teammate I’ve had a chance to play with. I may not say a lot. But I get the respect because you’ve got my respect and I have your best interest as my teammate.” Robinson has not played in any of Philadelphia’s seeding games due to a left hip pointer injury that he suffered during the scrimmages.
Doug Smith of The Toronto Star explains why the Raptors must re-sign Fred VanVleet, who is scheduled to be a free agent this offseason. Smith mentions veteran starting point guard Kyle Lowry going into the final year of his contract as one of the main reasons why Toronto needs to keep VanVleet. He also brings up VanVleet’s ability to make big plays and his on-court awareness.

New York Notes: Stoute, Thibs, Temple, Crawford

August 4th, 2020 at 9:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Knicks “branding manager” Steve Stoute is confident he can recruit stars to the team, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Stoute, who joined New York’s front office in January, mentioned in a recent conversation with The Breakfast Club show that he, team president Leon Rose and senior vice president William Wesley have strong relationships with some of the NBA’s top stars. Stoute anticipates they will be able to capitalize on these friendships, making the Knicks an attractive free agent destination once again.

“With having Leon in, World Wide Wes and myself, the three of us, we’re the best sort of team as it relates to being able to speak with free agents,’’ Stoute said of the Knicks’ new front office team.

Though every club’s cap situation is fairly up in the air following the anticipated revenue loss caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Knicks could have one of the lowest payrolls in the NBA next season, with only about $55MM currently committed to guaranteed salaries. The club could have even more cap flexibility in 2021.

There’s more out of the Empire State:

While speaking in a recent press conference, Knicks GM Scott Perry detailed how new head coach Tom Thibodeau won him over during a series of Zoom interviews, according to a separate Marc Berman piece for The New York Post. “During this process, it allowed me personally to get to know the man better and really see how our personalities could come together and mesh,” Perry said. “I felt really good about our time talking basketball. He’s got a lot of the same values about the game that I was raised in that came through clear to me throughout the process.’’
Despite the Nets being one of the most injury-ravaged squads among the 22 NBA teams in Orlando, wing Garrett Temple expects his Brooklyn teammates to compete, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “We’re trying to win,” Temple said after the seventh-seeded Nets defeated the East’s top-seeded Bucks today. “We’re not going out here to just mess around or have moral victories.”
Nets interim head coach Jacque Vaughn is cautiously optimistic about the health status of injured 40-year-old guard Jamal Crawford, Brian Lewis of the New York Post noted in a separate article. Crawford played just five minutes before apparently suffering a strained left hamstring. “I’m telling you, I love having him around and it was awesome to see him on the floor, and look forward to him being on the floor again,” Vaughn said.

Injury Updates: Crawford, Muscala, Baynes, MKG, Len

August 4th, 2020 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The last time Jamal Crawford appeared in an NBA game, on April 9, 2019, he poured in 51 points. His return to action today for the Nets wasn’t quite as successful.

After being cleared to play for the shorthanded Nets against Milwaukee, Crawford came off the bench and racked up five points and three assists in six minutes, but the veteran guard was forced to leave the game early after suffering a left hamstring injury (Twitter link via team).

It’s not clear yet whether the injury is a minor one that Crawford could return from soon, or if it may jeopardize his availability for the remainder of the season. We’re hoping for the former, but we’ll have to wait for an update from the Nets, who have had some awful health luck this summer.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

Thunder big man Mike Muscala suffered a concussion during Monday’s loss to Denver and has been placed in the league’s concussion protocol, the club announced today in a press release. Muscala has played limited minutes (12.6 MPG) for Oklahoma City this season, so his absence won’t have a major impact on the team’s rotation.
Suns center Aron Baynes, who joined the team late after recovering from the coronavirus, remains unavailable for Tuesday’s game vs. the Clippers, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “(He) had a really light practice yesterday,” head coach Monty Williams said. “Didn’t do much on the court at all. 3-on-3, 4-on-4, 5-on-5. So (he won’t play) at this point.”
A pair of players were active for the first time this summer in Tuesday afternoon’s Mavericks/Kings game. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was cleared to play for the Mavs (Twitter link via Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News), while Alex Len was available for Sacramento (Twitter link via team). Both players arrived late to the Orlando campus — Kidd-Gilchrist for personal reasons and Len due to COVID-19.

Bledsoe, Connaughton, Crawford Cleared To Make Summer Debuts

August 4th, 2020 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

Three veterans involved in Tuesday’s Bucks/Nets contest have been cleared to play for the first time this summer, the two teams confirmed this morning.

Eric Bledsoe and Pat Connaughton will be available for Milwaukee, according to head coach Mike Budenholzer, who added that both players will see “reasonably low” minutes, per ESPN’s Malika Andrews (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Jamal Crawford is set to make his debut for Brooklyn, tweets Andrews.

Bledsoe and Connaughton both arrived late to Orlando this summer after contracting COVID-19. As we noted when they were ruled out for Milwaukee’s opener against Boston last Friday, there was no need for the the club to rush either player back, since the Bucks have essentially locked up the East’s No. 1 seed and just need to get their key guys up to speed for the start of the postseason.

As for Crawford, he signed with the Nets as a substitute player last month, but it took the 40-year-old a little extra time to get back into game shape. Having cleared him for Tuesday’s game, Brooklyn is apparently confident in Crawford’s conditioning level.

The veteran guard may be leaned on to play rotation minutes immediately, since the shorthanded Nets will be without Caris LeVert, Joe Harris, and Jarrett Allen today. Head coach Jacque Vaughn said Crawford will come off the bench and figures to play in “short stints” (Twitter link via Andrews).

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Crawford, Lowry, Walker

August 2nd, 2020 at 4:51pm CST by JD Shaw

Raptors coach Nick Nurse isn’t worried about his team being forgotten as they look to repeat as NBA champions this year, Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes.

The Raptors, who were overlooked at times before defeating the likes of Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and an injury-riddled Golden State team last season, beat the Lakers 107-92 on Saturday for their first victory in Orlando. The Lakers, headlined by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, are naturally one of the league’s most feared contenders.

“Yeah, maybe,” Nurse said on whether onlookers are listening to the team’s confidence this season. “I don’t think anybody’s going to pay much attention, they don’t ever seem to, but it’s OK.

“Seriously man, we love to play the games and we like to compete, we know we’re tough to beat, we really do, and I think there’s a ceiling we can get to yet.”

The Raptors currently hold the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 47-18. They trail the No. 1 seed Bucks by 6.5 games, leading the No. 3 seed Celtics by four contests. It’s no secret they’ve outperformed expectations this season, a sentiment backed by James himself.

“That’s a great team,” James said. “No ifs, ands or buts. Exceptionally well coached and championship DNA, you can never take that away from a ballclub if you win a championship. And even before that, they just got playoff-tested guys. Guys that played not only here in the NBA in big games, but also in FIBA games as well. Marc [Gasol] has been in big games throughout his whole life pretty much it seems like.

“So, that’s just a great team. The media may not talk about them much or give them much credit because Kawhi [Leonard] is gone, but players in the league definitely know what type of team they are.”

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division today:

Nets guard Jamal Crawford will work out Sunday and Monday with hopes of getting his conditioning up to speed, interim coach Jacque Vaughn said, as relayed by Brian Lewis of the New York Post (Twitter link). Crawford, a respected veteran across the league, has yet to appear in a game with Brooklyn due to his conditioning issues.
Kyle Lowry makes the Raptors a legitimate threat for an NBA Finals berth, Mark Medina of USA TODAY opines. Lowry recorded 33 points, 14 rebounds and six assists in the team’s win against the Lakers on Saturday, proving his worth on both ends of the floor. “He seems to get himself into incredible shape, and he seems happy,” Nurse said. “He seems focused and is really excited and ready to play. It rubs off on the other guys. That’s what makes him a great leader.”
Celtics star Kemba Walker looked good in his first action in Orlando on Friday, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston writes. Walker scored 16 points in 19 minutes against the Bucks, shooting 5-of-9 from the floor in limited time as he bounces back from a knee injury. “I thought [Walker] looked great,” teammate Gordon Hayward said. “Definitely showed good spurts there. Definitely brings some pace to our team. Another threat, another ball-handler, another guy that’s a competitor and a winner, and we’re happy to have him back.”