Why Wizards’ Pursuit of Jae Crowder Amid NBA Rumors Makes Them Team to Watch

Jae Crowder has not played a single game for the top-seeded Phoenix Suns thus far in the 2022-23 NBA season, and he may never suit up for them this year as trade rumors involving the 32-year-old forward heat up amid his holdout.

The newest rumor, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst on his Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective podcast, has the Washington Wizards as a potential landing spot.

"I'm pretty confident there's been some discussions between the Wizards and the Suns," the league insider said (h/t Real GM). "We've been talking about Jae Crowder now for about two months. It's obvious it's a hard trade to pull off. The Wizards have a bunch of guys who make decent salaries on their roster they can use in a trade."

Crowder is more a defensive presence than anything at this point. Last season, he averaged 4.8 defensive rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. They are hardly staggering numbers, but for a Wizards team that is middle-of-the-pack defensively, he could help provide a presence that would help elevate them.

The Wizards are clearly looking to make moves at this point, too, with Windhorst also reporting that power forward Kyle Kuzma is attracting interest from potential suitors.

Considering the Suns are looking for a power forward in return for Crowder, looking to fill that hole on the roster with a player at the same position, it would make sense for the teams to make a deal based on their similar desires.

Given the year Kuzma is having, though, trading him away may be a difficult ask for a Wizards team that is still in playoff contention. The former Laker is averaging 20.6 points a game, is shooting 45.9 percent from the floor and is tallying 7.9 boards a game.

Rather than giving up a player who is consistently performing for them, it is more likely that they look at expiring contracts and try to move one of those players instead. Someone like Rui Hachimura, who has this season left on his deal and is owed just under $6.3 million from the Wizards makes sense.

Hachimura may not have the veteran experience of Crowder, but he is a better offensive player at this point, even if his defensive stats are a slight downgrade. Whether the Wizards would do that deal given that Crowder is due over $10 million this season is the question. A deal for small forward Deni Avdija ($11.2 million) makes more sense financially but loses the Suns the desired power forward.

Regardless of whether the Wizards pull off the trade for Crowder—especially with other teams interested, such as the Hawks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium—Washington appears prepared to make deals to ensure it does not miss the postseason for the second year in a row.

Desire to move up in the standings from the ninth seed they find themselves in should spark some kind of deal that will strengthen their roster and put them in the right position to make a run in the tight East, where they are just seven games back from the No. 1 seed and one game out of the playoffs were they to begin today.

Crowder would likely help get them there, especially if the Wizards could use him to accentuate their roster. The question is what Washington is willing to give up to make that happen. At least in this scenario, Kuzma does not make sense. They have other pieces to make a deal happen, but the question is whether Phoenix bites on an offer or waits it out to see who else may be in need of Crowder's abilities and willing to part with both a better player and one who makes financial sense.