The Los Angeles Clippers could look at a Jamal Crawford trade this year and the Cleveland Cavaliers could be an option for the guard, as a report has Crawford open to playing for the Cavs and it comes after LA has added Paul Pierce, Pablo Prigioni, Josh Smith, Lance Stephenson and Wesley Johnson this summer.
Crawford has has been a reliable scorer for the team over the past couple years, but Doc Rivers has brought in a number of other players and that could diminish Crawford's role. Crawford is coming off of a solid season with the Clippers and is in the final year of his contract and he could be trade bait leading into the season. LA had issues with depth last season in the playoffs, but that has been solved by the moves Rivers has made.
Crawford could still be a part of that, but it could be hard for him to find minutes and shots with Stephenson, Smith, JJ Redick, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul ahead of him on the pecking order. Stephenson will have to prove that he can bounce back after having a bad season in Charlotte and Redick has been an efficient player for the Clippers and still is a main part of the team.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com reports that Crawford "would want" to play for the Cavaliers if he was traded to the team. The report says that the Cavaliers could look at absorbing Crawford into the trade exception they created when they moved Brendan Haywood. The Cavs traded Haywood and Mike Miller to the Portland Trail Blazers and created two exceptions to use this season. The Orange County Register reported that Crawford is "unhappy with his role" on the team after writing on social media that he "wished" he was a free agent.
The Cavaliers have signed back Iman Shumpert and James Jones to the roster along with Matthew Dellavedova and JR Smith remains a free agent for the time being. Crawford could add some more wing scoring and he could have a bigger role in Cleveland than he would in Los Angeles, but not by much. Crawford would still be in a winning situation and if the Cavs add him the team could consider not signing back Smith, but right now his return is expected.
The Cavaliers have space to make a move and with the exception the money could work. Crawford is coming into the final year of his deal and he averaged 15.8 points and 2.5 assists per game last season in 26 minutes per game. Crawford likely will not play that many minutes with the Clippers if he stays and that average was the lowest amount Crawford has played per game since he was in Portland.
The Cavaliers may also want another backup for LeBron James even after signing Richard Jefferson, as the team wants to keep James fresh after another finals appearance. James has made deep runs in each of the last five years and adding a player like Tayshaun Prince or Dorell Wright could be helpful moving forward. The Cavaliers have made some strong moves this offseason and they could be even better this year after making it to the finals and losing to the Warriors.
Check here for more on the Cleveland Cavaliers offseason moves and for more on Crawford.
