Clippers trade rumors: L.A. ‘gauging interest’ in Jamal Crawford
By Tom West
Los Angeles Clippers trade rumors update: After Doc Rivers denied reported trade calls, another report has surfaced saying the team are ‘gauging interest’ around the NBA in Jamal Crawford.
From all the Los Angeles Clippers trade rumors that have been emerging for months now, Jamal Crawford must always be aware of the possibility of leaving. Now, after Doc Rivers strongly denied that the team have been making trade calls recently, a new report has surfaced saying that Crawford is once again being shopped.
Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops has said that the Clippers are “gauging interest” interest in him around the league.
Clippers are gauging trade interest around the league on Jamal Crawford, league sources tell Sheridan Hoops. He was shopped this summer too.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) December 10, 2015
As we already discussed earlier this week, it had been reported that the Clippers were still ‘open’ to trading Crawford, and they had felt that way since the offseason had ended. Then, one unnamed NBA executive said that the trade calls being made were just ‘routine’, before Doc denied that there was any truth to these rumors whatsoever yesterday.
Essentially, it’s hard to know what to think at this point. However, with so many rumors still flying around, it’s easy to think that Doc may just be trying to keep team moral and chemistry high rather than publicly admitting that the Clippers are trying to make a move. That’s not going to please any of the the players, especially when they’ve just started finding a rhythm after winning six of their last seven games.
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However, as for a potential trade, it makes far more sense to trade Crawford rather than the other two players who have been tied in with these rumors: Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith.
Neither of the two have good trade value right now as they haven’t done enough this season or last season (especially Stephenson) to earn much worth on the market. Besides the fact that Doc hasn’t played them enough and that they actually play defense, there is no point making a rash deal this early in the season when they haven’t had enough time to fully gel with their new team. Doc has been trusting Crawford and Paul Pierce far too much, despite how detrimental they’ve been at both ends of the floor.
If anyone is going to be moved at this stage, Crawford is still the best player the Clippers have to offer (ideally in exchange for a reliable backup point guard). His instant offense still has value off the bench for teams who lack scoring, and he’s proven enough over his successful career to carry more weight in a trade than either Stephenson or Smith.
Next: 5 reasons the Clippers should not trade Lance Stephenson
What will happen, though, is anyone’s guess. Right now, it’s still seems too early in the season for Doc to start making major deals, when a lot of problems stem from his poor rotations. He’s simply been trusting his old players too much. Guys like Stephenson and Smith can’t be shipped off when he hasn’t given them the minutes to make much of a difference now that they’ve started improving over recent games.
What will happen is completely uncertain at the moment, but be sure to follow us here for any updates on these Clippers trade rumors as the season progresses.