NBA Free Agents 2011: Does It Make Sense for NY Knicks to Sign Jamal Crawford?

One of the latest rumors surrounding the New York Knicks involves the possible re-signing of guard Jamal Crawford, who recently stated that he wouldn’t mind possibly making a return to New York if he didn’t re-sign with Atlanta, according to the New York Daily News.

At first hearing the news, I must admit I was pretty excited. I like Crawford as a player and he has the talent to be a nice offensive spark for any team.

But as much I like Crawford, the Knicks shouldn’t even consider the possibility of signing him.

Quite frankly, they just don’t need him at the moment.

There are a lot of bodies currently in the backcourt with Chauncey Billups, Toney Douglas, Landry Fields and Iman Shumpert. Even throw Bill Walker into that mix as well.

Crawford may be the better player right now, but now is no time to stunt the growth of any of the young guards. Let the young guys play. They will be fine.

There are more pressing needs on this team anyway.

Unless Crawford has grown a foot, put on about 100 pounds of muscle and learned to play center during the lockout, then the Knicks really don’t need him.

First and foremost, the goal should be signing someone to man the middle.

They need a big guy who can play defense and rebound much more than they need another guard who really isn’t great on the defensive end of the floor.

As for Crawford, or any other guard for that matter, if you could get him very cheap on a one-year deal, then I would say go for it. But Crawford won’t come cheap. This will likely be the last lucrative deal he signs in his career, so he won’t be taking any type of discount from the Knicks.

The thought of Crawford in a Knicks uniform is nice, but the facts are they don’t need him. There’s no need to waste money or cap room that can be used towards a much better 2012 class of free agents.