NBA Rumors: Jamal Crawford Would Be Soultion to Knicks' Depth Problem
Don't let his 35-year-old veteran stature or the fact that he has seen some of his greatest success in the league coming off the bench fool you.
Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford is still in demand, as teams are inquiring about the two-time Sixth Man of the Year Award winner.
One of those teams interested, according to the Daily News' Frank Isola, is one of Crawford's former sides:
The Knicks could use added depth to the shooting guard position, and a scorer like Crawford could create a nice tandem backing up Arron Afflalo.
After a 2013-14 season that saw him record 18.2 points per game with the Orlando Magic, Afflalo experienced a down 2014-15 campaign with the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers in which he scored just 13.3 per night. The Knicks are hoping he can regain his scoring touch as he joins an inept offense trying to institute the triangle that ranked dead last in the NBA with 91.9 points per game.
Despite his age, Crawford has recorded over 14 points per game in every year since the 2003-04 season, his last with Chicago before joining these very same Knicks in 2004-05. Crawford's presence off the bench could take the pressure of being the secondary scorer behind Carmelo Anthony off Afflalo's shoulders, thus improving his play back to his form from two years ago.
Playing for six teams in his career, Crawford spent his longest tenure in New York (five seasons), averaging 17.6 points per game, including a career-best 20.6 during the 2007-08 season. An aggressive shooter who can score from almost anywhere on the floor, Crawford's style of play and experience could be vital to a Knicks team that won just 17 games last year.
Crawford is signed through the 2015-16 season, where he is set to earn $5.675 million, according to Spotrac, something that might throw a wrench in this possible deal, as former Brooklyn Nets assistant general manager Bobby Marks broke down on Twitter.
"Only movable contract for NYK is Calderon, Don't think LAC would want that extra year. Just a tidbit to a Crawford/Calderon type deal, Doesn't work, LAC only has 125 percent to take back players, LAC-Tax team has restrictions."
The Clippers' acquisition of guard Lance Stephenson, who is much younger, shows that Crawford's time in Los Angeles is running out even though the 24-year-old has averaged just 8.9 points per game in his career.
But the Clippers could be looking for a point guard to back up Chris Paul, and they might show more interest if they don't find a better option than Austin Rivers and Pablo Prigioni. Thus Calderon could be an option. Calderon has averaged 10.2 points and 6.7 assists per game over his 10-year career.
If the Knicks do manage to make this happen—and according to Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk, it won't for some time—the Knicks offense will contain another dimension of scoring that defenses have been unable to figure out for over a decade.
Stats courtesy of Pro-Basketball-Reference.com.
