PODCAST: Breaking Down NBA Offseason With Jamal Crawford

[mkwest]

Basketball Insiders Podcast

Basketball Insiders’ Alex Kennedy and Los Angeles Clippers shooting guard Jamal Crawford discuss the DeAndre Jordan drama, trade rumors involving Jamal and other offseason moves around the NBA in this episode of the podcast.

Kennedy asked Jamal quite a few questions about DJ and the team moving forward. They touched on the acquisitions of Stephenson and Pierce, the DJ/CP relationship, Jamal being involved in trade rumors and general NBA free-agency topics. It's a solid listen.

[Roscoe Sheed]

Crawford is such a likable person. It is a shame that he has such a gun slingers mentality, because he has the passing ability to be a well rounded offensive player.

[Ranma]

I don't know how long it will be up, but Jamal made an appearance on a Seattle sports radio segment: VIDEO - The Barbershop

[Ranma]

Jamal comes off as a genuinely nice and intelligent guy, but he's pretty self-absorbed with blinders on when it comes to discussing team matters. During his interview, he talks about how Doc finally touched base with him the other day since the playoffs while even acknowledging that Doc tends to not check up on players in general. Crawford then expressed frustration with his name constantly being in the rumor mill stating that personnel managers play their newly acquired players to legitimize the decision to trade for, sign, or draft such players. Excuse me? This implication doesn't make sense when you consider Doc's handling of Spencer Hawes, Reggie Bullock, and C.J. Wilcox. In fact, practically all of us have argued that Doc has been giving undeserved minutes to Jamal at the detriment to the team. The case could be made for the playing of Jared Dudley while he was hurt, but he has since been traded, and his presence didn't affect Crawford's playing time.

Moving on, JC cited his two 6th Man of the Year awards and felt he should and could have won more and that he values peer opinion over official recognition. I've mentioned before how DJ being named to the All Defensive 1st Team doesn't necessarily mean he's actually a good individual defender, so likewise, Jamal's recognition as a valued 6th Man, official or otherwise, holds similarly little weight. Such awards should actually be given to those who help the team, not players who put up individual numbers at its expense. There is a plethora of bench players I would rather have than Jamal Crawford: Andre Iguodala, Taj Gibson, Manu Ginobili, Boris Diaw, Kyle Anderson, Patty Mills, Jordan Hill, etc.

Crawford then says he can probably deal with being either under-appreciated or underpaid, but feels he's both yet he fails to recognize how little demand there seems to be for him even at his current contract rate. If he's constantly in trade rumors but hasn't been traded during his time with the team despite feeling unwanted by the organization, wouldn't that mean he's also not a desirable commodity by other teams? All this delusional talk just misses the reality of the situation. There's little market for a 35-year-old player who doesn't play defense and wastes his offensive talent playing iso ball instead of making his teammates better. Further, it would be charitable to say that he's been a non-factor in the postseason when he has proven time and again to be a negative presence regardless of which team he has played for.

[og15]

I don't know how long it will be up, but Jamal made an appearance on a Seattle sports radio segment: VIDEO - The Barbershop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXB1b4XiNaw

Starts at about 12:05

[Ranma]

Dan Woike, Orange County Register (7/27/15)

In his professional basketball career, Crawford has never had much stability, playing for 17 head coaches on six NBA teams. Only two active players, Elton Brand and Andre Miller, have scored more points and played on more teams than Crawford.

Maybe that’s partly why Crawford made it known his preference to sign a contract extension with the Clippers before the start of last season.

That extension didn’t materialize, and if another round of trade rumors linking him to Miami and Cleveland didn’t do it, Crawford probably got the sense he might not be a long-term solution for the team this July.

With Jordan about to re-commit to the Clippers, the team sent its core members to his home in Houston on July 8. Owner Steve Ballmer, Rivers, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, J.J. Redick and even newcomer Pierce all went to Texas secure Jordan’s name on a contract.

Crawford, left in the dark on the plan, tweeted “Actions speak louder than words” on the same day.
...

Rivers and the Clippers are gambling that any damage done to his psyche over the past year can be undone with the right words, the right minutes and the right shots. They’re betting that Crawford, heading into a contract year, won’t cause much trouble because he doesn’t want to hurt his value as a free agent next summer.

But what if that doesn’t work?

Can the Clippers and the team’s delicate chemistry that’ll exist with so many new faces handle a disgruntled Crawford? Can they deal with the tweets and the interviews he’ll surely give?

If Crawford comes to camp intent on forcing a trade from the Clippers, things could get ugly. And all of a sudden, the luster from the Clippers’ winning offseason would wear off really quickly.

And that would be a problem.

Analysis: After Productive Offseason, Clippers' One Problem May Be Unhappy Jamal Crawford