Jae Crowder Discusses Telling His Mom He'd Been Traded Just Before She Died

Jae Crowder told reporters Thursday that he informed his mother he was being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers just minutes before she died.

"There was a lot going on that day, obviously," Crowder said at his introductory press conference, per MassLive.com's Jay King. "The good thing about the whole ordeal was I was able to whisper it to my mom before she passed. I was with her. I just told her, 'We're going to Cleveland.' And like five minutes later she passed."

According to Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon, Crowder's mother, Helen Thompson, died of cancer Aug. 22—the same night the Cavaliers and Boston Celtics initially agreed to the deal that sent Crowder, Isaiah Thomas, Ante Zizic, the Brooklyn Nets' 2018 first-round pick and a future second-round selection to Cleveland in exchange for Kyrie Irving. 

"Yeah, that day was tough," Crowder added, per King. "But it was a good day for my basketball career to move on to an organization like this, like the Cleveland Cavaliers, and be able to put myself in position to play for it all. I couldn't ask for nothing else."

Crowder, 27, averaged 13.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.0 steals on 46.3 percent shooting from the field and a career-high 39.8 percent shooting from three last season. 

Now a member of the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions, Crowder should have every opportunity to improve on those figures playing in a wide-open offense orchestrated by LeBron James.