The Los Angeles Clippers may look for a Jamal Crawford trade this offseason and teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat could be options for LA if the Cavs/Heat look at trading Brendan Haywood or Chris Anderson and it comes after the Clippers signed Paul Pierce and Josh Smith in free agency while also adding Lance Stephenson in a trade.
Crawford has been shopped by the Clippers this off-season and the guard himself wrote on social media that he "wished" he was a free agent. Crawford made the comment half-jokingly, as he was responding to a Twitter question about him getting traded. Crawford responded to a question and implied that he was tired of the question and did not have any issues with the Clippers. Either way, Crawford is likely going to get moved, as he is relatively inexpensive and may not have as a big a role in LA anymore.
Crawford has been a key piece for the Clippers, but moving forward his place in the offense is not as clear, especially after the additions of Pierce and Smith. The team also has Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan as their starting options along with Austin Rivers, Lance Stephenson, Wesley Johnson, Smith and Cole Aldrich as reserves and that could mean fewer minutes for Crawford. According to Marc Stein at ESPN, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat have shown interest in a trade with Crawford, while the Dallas Mavericks also could be interested.
Stein wrote a couple weeks ago that the Clippers were interested in a Brendan Haywood deal for Crawford, as Haywood's contract is unguaranteed. The Cavs have been looking for some more bench scoring and they previously were talking to the Brooklyn Nets about a trade with Joe Johnson. That deal did not come close to happening and now the Clippers and Cavaliers could continue talking about Crawford. The Cavs have some other priorities now with JR Smith and Matthew Dellavedova potentially coming back, but they if they are going to move Haywood, they have to do it soon.
Haywood has a contract at $10.5 million the becomes guaranteed at the end of July and that makes him a solid trade chip for the Cavs. The Miami Heat are also interested in Crawford, as they would like some more bench scoring even after signing Gerald Green. The team also wants to limit Dwyane Wade's minutes this season and having Crawford could greatly help that. The team has reportedly shopped Mario Chalmers, Chris Andersen and Shabazz Napier as well as Josh McRoberts and one of those names could be a fit if Crawford is traded.
Crawford is getting paid $5.6 million this season and that is fairly cheap considering what some other players got on new contracts this year. Crawford would be a short term buy for a team in a trade, as he is coming into free agency and he could be a great bench option. Crawford was productive while averaging 15 points per game last season, but his three point shooting has slipped a bit in the past few years. Crawford would not be a 3-ball specialist in Cleveland anyway and that could make him a better fit with the Cavs over Miami.
Check here for more on the trade interest in Jamal Crawford, the potential deal for Brendan Haywood or for more on the Clippers, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers offseason moves.
