NBA Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz on Jae Crowder, Potential Landing Spots for Forward
During Jae Crowder's two seasons with the Phoenix Suns, the team experienced a ton of success.
The Suns made a run to the NBA Finals at the end of the 2020-21 season and played their way to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference in the following campaign.
However, Crowder and the Suns didn't win a championship. And now, the two sides are going to be parting ways.
On Sunday, Phoenix announced it will be trading the 32-year-old ahead of the 2022-23 season. So, while the Suns are currently holding training camp and preparing to play games, the forward is waiting to find out where he'll be heading.
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Crowder requested a trade over the summer when he was informed "that he may lose his starting job this season."
"The Suns had discussions about it throughout the summer but hadn't found a deal yet," Windhorst wrote. "But it seems clear his time with the team is over."
Crowder came to Phoenix as a free agent in November 2020. Prior to that, he had stints with the Dallas Mavericks (2012-14), Boston Celtics (2014-17), Cleveland Cavaliers (2017-18), Utah Jazz (2018-19), Memphis Grizzlies (2019-20) and Miami Heat (2020).
So, where could be the Marquette product be heading next?
NBA insider Shams Charania told The Rally that the Suns had trade discussions with the Jazz, as they were trying to land Bojan Bogdanovic and could have sent Crowder back to Utah. However, the Croatian was dealt to the Detroit Pistons earlier this week.
Although Crowder may not be returning to Utah, that doesn't mean he won't rejoin another one of his former teams, according to Charania.
"I would look at the teams that he's played for," he said. "Look for teams like Boston, Memphis, Dallas, Miami."
Another team that could show interest is the Milwaukee Bucks.
ESPN's Zach Lowe believes the Bucks will "look" into the possibility of a Crowder trade, after they had been "sneakily kind of sniffing around" Jerami Grant, who was traded from the Pistons to the Portland Trail Blazers in July. Crowder is similar to the type of player Milwaukee may be looking for.
"I think they like the idea of the switchable, switchable, switchable guys," Lowe said on The Lowe Post (h/t HoopsHype).
Crowder doesn't typically put up huge numbers. Last season, he averaged 9.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 67 games for the Suns while shooting 39.9 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from three-point range.
However, he is a valuable player for a contending team. He made back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2020 (with Miami) and 2021 (with Phoenix). And he was instrumental in the Suns winning a franchise-record 64 games during the 2021-22 regular season.
So, it makes sense that the teams with rumored interest in Crowder are probable championship contenders. They need a player with strong leadership skills who can also be a contributor on the wing, and that's exactly what the 10-year NBA veteran would bring.
It isn't clear how close the Suns are to making a deal, though. Crowder could be in this waiting period for a bit. Could that stretch beyond the start of the 2022-23 regular season? That's not known at this point.
His time in Phoenix is over, though, and he'll soon be looking to help lead a different franchise to success during the upcoming season.
However, it's worth noting Crowder is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2022-23 campaign. So, even if he gets traded, it won't necessarily be for the long term.
