Jamal Crawford Looking Like Odd Man Out for Rebuilt Los Angeles Clippers

For the past three years, Jamal Crawford was the Los Angeles Clippers' last resort—a player they needed to prop up a second unit with reliable (if inefficient) scoring in the absence of better options.

After an offseason overhaul, the Clips are stronger, deeper and better than they've ever been. And in a troublesome development for Crawford, they won't need to rely on last resorts anymore.

Lance Stephenson is in L.A. seeking redemption after a disastrous season with the Charlotte Hornets, and we have to start with him because he looks conspicuously like Crawford's replacement. Both are most effective with the ball in their hands, both pound the dribble and both play with a highlight-hunting bent that produces appreciative gasps and frustrated groans in equal measure.

Stephenson, though, is a far more accomplished defender, a demonstrably better rebounder and a generally more well-rounded player.

To be completely fair, Stephenson was awful last year. He shot 17.1 percent from long range and was a net negative on both ends of the floor.

	ORtg	DRtg	Net Rtg
On Court	94.3	101.8	-7.5
Off Court	99.8	100.4	-0.6

If he's that bad again, Crawford's role is much safer.

But remember, Stephenson is only a year removed from flirting with an All-Star berth, and he's a decade younger than Crawford. The guy averaged 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists on 49.1 percent shooting for an offensively challenged Indiana Pacers team in 2013-14. What might he do in a high-octane, fast-paced Clippers attack where defenses can't afford to devote much attention to him?

Note, too, that Stephenson's defensive versatility is a big deal. He's quick enough to check point guards, and it wasn't so long ago that he spent playoff minutes assigned to LeBron James.

It's fair to call out Stephenson for stat-padding (he's a documented rebound-stealer), but you can't just ignore his five triple-doubles in a 70-game span during 2013-14. Crawford has never logged a triple-double in his NBA career, and despite playing over 1,000 games, he's pulled down double-figure rebounds just five times.

Crawford's sole contribution to the Clippers was second-unit scoring, and if he had an off night, he simply had nothing else to offer. Stephenson is prone to shooting woes himself (See: all of 2014-15), but at least when he goes cold, he can help in other ways.

The Clippers' other offseason additions improved the team's overall depth from nonexistent to respectable, which might be all it takes to get this team a championship. Remember, despite the complete absence of reserve help last year, L.A.'s starting unit was good enough to dispatch the San Antonio Spurs in the first round and then come within one impossibly fluky quarter of eliminating the Houston Rockets in the conference semifinals.

Nick Ut/Associated Press

Paul Pierce, Josh Smith, Cole Aldrich and Wesley Johnson are all legitimate NBA players, and the first two are former stars who still function as terrific role fillers.

Pablo Prigioni is a steady backup point guard who should be able to involve the rebuilt bench better than the shoot-first Crawford. If Los Angeles hadn't added quality pieces to its rotation, Crawford might still have made sense as a second-unit leader. It's easier to justify tossing a chucker out there if the other four players aren't threats to score.

But Prigioni is a strong facilitating option who'll actually make use of the Clips' new depth.

All's not lost for Crawford. There's still a place for him in the rotation because he's a flat-out elite spot-up shooter.

Player	Spot-Up Shots	Points Per Play	Percentile Rank
Klay Thompson	229	1.47	98.9
Anthony Morrow	264	1.26	96.1
Marco Belinelli	198	1.23	95.2
J.J. Redick	215	1.23	95.0
Jamal Crawford	192	1.22	94.5
Jason Terry	216	1.21	94.3
Khris Middleton	250	1.20	93.9
Eric Gordon	229	1.20	93.0
Danny Green	322	1.19	92.3
DeMarre Carroll	261	1.18	91.2
Wesley Matthews	254	1.17	90.4

Among players who attempted at least 190 spot-up shots last season, Crawford ranked fifth in the NBA with 1.22 points per play—ahead of noted marksmen like Danny Green and Wesley Matthews and just a hair behind teammate J.J. Redick. Side note: Holy smokes, Klay Thompson!

Outside of Pierce and the low-volume shooting of Prigioni, the Clips didn't add much shooting this past summer. And the loss of Matt Barnes, who ranked second on the team with 376 three-point attempts in 2014-15 (and connected at a 36.2 percent clip), means there's a shooting void that needs to be filled.

Crawford can do that if he's willing to stand around the perimeter and wait for others to create shots for him.

That cuts against everything we know of him, though, and this has always been the most frustrating aspect of his game. Despite his obvious excellence as a standstill shooter (57.2  percent eFG percent on catch-and-shoot possessions last year), he has always insisted on yo-yoing the ball and hoisting contested pull-up jumpers.

More than half (52.4 percent) of his field-goal attempts were pull-ups last year, and his effective field-goal percentage was just 39.9 percent on those shots.

That's how a guy with a deadly standstill jumper wound up converting just 39.6 percent of his field goals and 32.7 percent of his threes last year.

Defensively, Crawford will always be a liability. According to ESPN.com's Real Plus-Minus, no shooting guard was worse last season.

Inefficient shooting and ball-stopping offense are death in today's NBA, and when they come from a player who also kills you on defense, it's hard to justify putting him on the court when you have better alternatives.

The Clippers have those alternatives. No wonder Crawford's not psyched about his current situation.

Let's review some of his answers to Twitter questions after the Clips had finished building their new roster:

Crawford's name surfaced as one the Cleveland Cavaliers might be interested in, and it seems he didn't take it well. That's probably because the Clips shopped him at the trade deadline as well.

The problem now is twofold.

First, if the Clippers were going to move Crawford, the optimal time has passed. His contract for next year became fully guaranteed on June 30, so now any team that acquires him will owe him his full salary. Had the Clippers moved him before the end of June, Crawford's new team would have had the option to buy him out for $1.5 million.

Crawford will make just $5.7 million this season, so his contract isn't overly cumbersome. But waiting past Crawford's full guarantee date diminished his trade value.

Second, the risk of a discontented Crawford messing things up from the bench (if not the court) is greater now—particularly on a roster with plenty of strong personalities. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Doc Rivers, Stephenson, Pierce and even DeAndre Jordan are already plenty outspoken.

After losing his starting job, Crawford reportedly led a mutiny against head coach Nate McMillan with the 2011-12 Portland Trail Blazers, though he strongly denied doing so. Whether he was responsible for McMillan's eventual firing or not, Crawford clearly isn't afraid to express his emotions, whether via tweet or otherwise.

This is the best Clippers roster in the Chris Paul-Blake Griffin era. The potential to win a championship is very real.

There's more to lose, so the stakes are higher.

If the Clippers aren't going to trade Crawford, they'll have to bank on him changing. They'll have to trust in his willingness to take better shots, to defend a little bit, to accept a diminished role. The problem is that Crawford's whole game is predicated on an excess of confidence.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

He's been this same player for 15 years, and his identity has always been wrapped up in a "shoot first, second and third, and then maybe ask questions if you have time" approach. Can he really be expected to rein it in now, at 35, with free agency looming next summer?

If he wants to be part of what the Clippers could achieve this year, he may not have a choice.

All stats are courtesy of NBA.com.

Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @gt_hughes.