Clippers: Re-signing Jamal Crawford is a ‘priority’ for L.A.
By Tom West
Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers has already told Jamal Crawford that the team plans to re-sign him in free agency, which is Crawford’s preference, too.
Despite his age at 36, poor defense and wavering efficiency from his streaky shooting, Jamal Crawford still holds value in the NBA. He became the only player in history to win three Sixth Man of the Year awards last season, establishing himself as a guy who can still be utilized for instant offense as the Benjamin Button of the league. The fluidity at which he bounces around on offense to cross up his opponents is ageless, and it’s a reason why the Los Angeles Clippers will try to keep him around in free agency.
Crawford made $5.67 million last season, and now that his contract has expired, he should receive a few offers from teams around the league looking to add some offense punch to their second units.
In an interview with Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, Crawford said that he and head coach Doc Rivers have already talked about free agency together and addressed their mutual interest.
It was Crawford’s phrasing that he thinks he’s one of the Clippers’ priorities to re-sign, but Doc said himself that he wants to bring back the three-time Sixth Man of the Year:
"“We discussed it a little bit. He just said, ‘We want to bring you back and that’s part of the plan, for sure.’ I think I’m one of the priorities and he said that they want to bring me back to L.A. I thought the exit meeting went really well and he definitely made it clear that he wants me to re-sign.”"
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For Crawford’s many fans in L.A., it’s good news that it seems like one of the Clippers’ priorities to re-sign him. They’ll most likely have less than $10 million in cap space and new signings will be extremely limited, but for a similar sum, they should be able to keep Crawford around.
Plus, Crawford reiterated his preference to stay put to Kennedy, giving the Clippers a better chance to keep him at a lower price in the rising market. As any free agent will, though, Crawford admitted that he’ll obviously be listening to offers that came in from others, too:
"“My preference is to re-sign with the Clippers. But I understand that, at the end of the day, I’m a free agent so I have to look at everything. I have to take every call and consider every offer that comes to me and my agent. I have to, that’s just part of being a free agent. Like I said, my preference is to re-sign with the Clippers. But we have to take every single call that comes in. That’s the way it is.”"
Yes, there may be offers, but it seems most likely that Jamal Crawford won’t be going anywhere.
Next: Is signing J.R. Smith worth considering for Clippers?
He’s a valued part of the team and the locker room, he’s one of Doc’s trusted veterans (regardless of his flaws), and the Clippers simply don’t have the money to search for various sixth man options and upgrades.