Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford is still in demand, as teams are inquiring about the two-time Sixth Man of the Year Award victor.
Will Los Angeles Clippers’ point guard Jamal Crawford return to New York Knicks?
Some of Jamal Crawford’s best seasons were during his four years in New York City with the Knicks. Moreover, Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers have also expressed their desire to have Crawford. However, the Knicks aren’t exactly in good shape when it comes to trade assets. They got the steal of the draft in Justise Winslow, they acquired Gerald Green for pennies on the dollar, and they’re getting Josh McRoberts back from injury. Green is younger and more athletic, while Crawford offers much better ball-handling (though his assist rate had dwindled playing with Chris Paul for three seasons).
Crawford was traded by New York 11 games into the 2008-09 season as then-president Donnie Walsh started clearing cap space. Although he was a key player for the Clippers coming off of the bench, the team has rebuilt their bench significantly this offseason.
New York Knicks veteran Jose Calderon isn’t expected to be leaving the organisation despite strong interest from around the National Basketball Association.
Crawford has averaged 15.6 points per game for his career, topping out at nearly 21 points with the Knicks during the ’07-08 season. Pincus adds that the team can trade certain players, including Calderon, Langston Galloway and Cleanthony Early, but other players are not eligible to be traded yet after signing this summer. However, the Clippers will probably want some kicker in the deal, and that’s a problem for Miami, as they can’t trade a first-round pick and have no unprotected second-rounder before 2021.
To make the deal more hard for the Knicks, they would likely lose to the Cavs and Heat in a bidding war.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers are also trying to make a deal for having Crawford on board. “Calderon is owed $7.4 million in 2015-16, and $7.7 million in 2016-17”, wrote Marc Stein of Yahoo Sports.