Jamal Crawford’s future has been a subject of much speculation all offseason, with rumors linking the veteran guard to teams including the Knicks, Cavaliers and Heat.
But the Clippers never did trade their long-standing sixth man, and he reported to the team for Friday’s Media Day and Saturday’s opening of training camp.
Late Friday, Crawford tweeted a cryptic message that seemed to reference his uncertain offseason:
Sometimes things have a funny way of working out..
— Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) September 26, 2015
Even if Crawford sticks with the Clippers, his playing time is likely to decrease. His minutes slipped from 30.3 in 2013-14 to 26.6 this past season. And since then, the Clippers have added Paul Pierce, Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith to fortify their depth — moves that could further crimp Crawford’s available minutes.
Nonetheless, even at 35 years old, Crawford remains a potent scorer and spark plug off the bench, scoring 15.8 points per game last season in those 26 minutes and finishing in third place in the annual Sixth Man Award voting.
Another reason for the rampant speculation on Crawford’s future was his contract. His $5.7-million salary is relatively inexpensive for his production, making him attractive in the short-term. In the longer-term, with his deal expiring after this coming season, other franchises might be able to offer him a greater role and more money than what the Clippers could. As a result, many around the league expected Los Angeles to try and move him this offseason to recoup some value.
But the Clippers have had serious depth issues in recent years, so there was always a strong case to keep the veteran scorer around. And from Crawford’s perspective, even if his playing time declines, he’s at a point in his career where many veterans are willing to sacrifice playing time for the sake of playing on a contender. The rebuilt Clippers would certainly seem to qualify.
Crawford’s future beyond 2015-16 remains unclear, but that’s not a primary concern for either party at this time. Led by Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and a re-signed DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers and coach Doc Rivers are “all in” on this season. Fortunately for them, it seems Crawford is on the same page.
Ben DuBose is a veteran sports reporter who has followed the Houston Rockets and the NBA since Hakeem Olajuwon was Akeem Olajuwon. He writes for both SheridanHoops and ClutchFans, an independent Rockets blog. You can follow him on Twitter.