Jamal Crawford, a three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year awardee, has yet to figure out on whether he will still be seeing action this coming season. At 38, Crawford could find himself hanging up his sneakers and wrap up his NBA career.
But even at his age, the word out is that several teams have expressed interest on the first round pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2000. The teams mentioned include the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Philadelphia 76ers. Regardless of which team he ends up, he is likely to spend more time on the bench and taken in mostly to mentor the young guns for that particular ballclub.
According to Clutch Points, Crawford is nowhere close to signing with any NBA team as of this writing. The combo guard last played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, averaging 10.3 points, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 rebounds. Prior to the T-Wolves, Crawford also had stints with the Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, and the Golden State Warriors. As one can see, Crawford has been around.
Among the three teams that have generated interest, there is no denying that suiting up for the Warriors would make sense. Winning an NBA title could be fitting before he calls it a career although he may not be getting the playing minutes. He could be bunched among the relievers of main guns Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, meaning the best he could get is a veteran’s minimum.
Crawford’s best performance was way back the 2007-08 NBA season when he played for the Knicks. He averaged 20.6 points and averaged close to 40 minutes per game. He maintained that for the next four years, the last of which was when he joined the Hawks. From there, his numbers started to dwindle as he moved from one team to another.
With the T-Wolves, Crawford was hardly impressive. He is coming off a mediocre offensive season and struggled on the defensive end, the Bleacher Report said.
Despite his age, Crawford mentioned to the Chicago Tribune that he has no plans to stop playing. If not the NBA, Crawford could be hinting at possibly testing other international leagues such as the Chinese Basketball Association or even the European circuit. These are leagues where NBA free agents end up, receiving lucrative salaries as well as fresh opportunities to shine on the hardwood.
Age and time are not on Crawford’s side although he believes he has some gas left in the tank. Several teams could put him to good use but more likely as someone who can spell the current younger stars and to mentor them as well.
