Washington Wizards reportedly interested in Jamal Crawford
By Ben Palmer
The Washington Wizards are reportedly interesting in signing free agent shooting guard Jamal Crawford. Crawford is 37 and played for the Los Angeles Clippers last year.
The Washington Wizards are reportedly interested in signing free agent shooting guard Jamal Crawford, according to ESPN’s Marc J. Spears on Twitter.
Crawford was sent to the Atlanta Hawks as part of a three-team trade between the Hawks, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Denver Nuggets that involved Paul Millsap and Danilo Gallinari. However, the Hawks don’t really have much of a need for someone like Crawford, so his contract is being bought out.
Crawford could be an interesting addition to the Washington Wizards as, even at age 37, he’s shown he can be a solid scorer. Last season with the Clippers he averaged 12.3 points per game and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 41.3% from the field, coming off the bench. He also had 14 games in which he score at least 20 points.
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Crawford was, at one point, one of the better shooting guards in the entire NBA. His best season was the 2007-08 season with the New York Knicks where he averaged 20.6 points per game, 5.0 assists per game, and 2.6 rebounds per game while shooting 41% from the floor.
Now at age 37, his production has naturally gone down, but he would provide the Washington Wizards with a solid veteran presence off the bench who can create shots well.
The only thing that’s potentially difficult is how he would fit on the roster. As of now, Otto Porter is still a restricted free agent, and he’s been sent a max offer sheet by the Brooklyn Nets. The Wizards are expected to match, and if they do, they will be both out of money and roster spots.
With the signings of both Jodie Meeks and Mike Scott, the Wizards will have a full roster. And if they want to sign Crawford to a minimum deal, his over 10 years of service dictate that a veteran minimum deal would be worth $2.3 million, and the Wizards would only have $2 million of space left.
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If they really do want Crawford, they could elect to release one of their unguaranteed players, which would be Sheldon McClellan or Daniel Ochefu, which they could possibly do. With the signing of Scott, for example, Ochefu’s presence on the team becomes somewhat redundant, as does McClellan’s if they sign Crawford.