Washington Wizards Have Interest in Signing Jamal Crawford, According to Reports
By Ryan Eugene
Washington Wizards free agency has been a roller coaster of emotions. Is Otto Porter worth $100? Are the Wizards really improving their bench? Oh they’re interested in Jamal Crawford? Wait, is Jamal Crawford still good?
There have been so many deals and trades across the NBA it can certainly be hard to keep up. In a recent three team deal, Jamal Crawford was traded to Atlanta, with Paul Millsap going to Denver, and Danilo Gallinari to the Clippers. Sources indicated that the Hawks never planned to bring Crawford in, and instead buy him out for the $3 million on his deal.
Crawford expected this as well, and had given indications he would not play for the rebuilding Hawks. So now, the NBA’s perennial sixth man of the year would be an unrestricted free agent, free to sign with any team, while also receiving his 2017-18 slary from Atlanta.
According to reports earlier in the week, Crawford was interested in staying in LA, and joining the Lakers to play with rookie Lonzo Ball. After that fell through, Marc Spears of ESPN highlighted some other potential options.
With Lakers interest dying on both sides, source says Crawford is expected to have interest from T-Wolves, Cavs & Wizards after bought out. https://t.co/Jl1EKdoo1O
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 6, 2017
Reports like this always have to be taken with a grain of salt. It’s simply saying that the Wizards are interested in signing Crawford. There’s no mention of Crawford’s desire to play in Washington.
Still, it’s better that management is seemingly still exploring options to potentially improve the team, instead of being content with the current make up of the roster.
According to other reports, Crawford has indicated his willingness to sign with Cleveland or Boston, and surely values playing for a contender at this point in his career. Both those teams have limited cap space available, in line with Washington, so it will be interesting to see how Crawford prioritizes money, role, and championship potential in his meetings.
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If the Wizards were able to sign Crawford, he would bring a type of player to Washington that the team really hasn’t had since John Wall arrived and walked the red carpet. He’s 37-years old, but has aged gracefully thus far.
He can bring the ball up, and create a shot for himself from anywhere on the court. He might struggle with his shot for three straight games, but that fourth game he may very well be the reason you win.
Crawford is the definition of a microwave. Based on watching him on a few occasions and seeing his trophy case, you might surmise he’s an offensive juggernaut. Rather, in 2016-17, he shot 41.3% from the field. This was his third best shooting season since 2011.
Because of his shooting inefficiencies and defensive liability, Crawford may not be the best fit in Washington at this point in his career. But at this point in free agency, there are not many great fits left that Washington can afford.
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Offensive production from the bench has been such a topic of conversation for the last 9 months, and Crawford would surely help in that regard.