Jamal Crawford's future with the Los Angeles Clippers has been in question since the team acquired Lance Stephenson at the start of the offseason. The former Sixth Man of the Year suddenly found his seat getting a lot hotter as he became expendable to the franchise. The more free agent signings the Clippers made, the more Crawford got pushed to the end of the bench and now he could be headed out of Los Angeles sooner rather than later.
Crawford confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that he heard the trade rumors surrounding his name and he is aware that he might not be back with the Clippers to start the year. According to Crawford, the whole situation is out of his hands. The guard is set to earn $5.675 million which is relatively team friendly and suitors are certainly lining up to negotiate a trade, but will one actually end up happening?
The Miami Heat could offer up the best trade package to entice the Clippers to deal. According to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, the Heat could give the Clippers Mario Chalmers and/or Chris Andersen. While the Clippers do not really have a need for Chalmers, they would likely love to have Chris Andersen as an option to backup Cole Aldrich at the center spot. The salaries would end up matching up and the Heat would have to do very little to sweeten the deal for the Clippers.
Isola reports the Knicks are also showing a lot of interest. While the team did sign Arron Afflalo in the offseason, they have major doubts at the point guard spot. A trade with New York would include Jose Calderon as he appears to be the odd man out when it comes to the Langston Galloway, Jerian Grant duo. The Knicks really have no one else they could offer in a trade to the Clippers. Calderon is set to earn $7.4 million so this would be a one-for-one deal. The Clippers might not be thrilled to acquire a point guard who spent most of his time on the bench injured last year.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have once again tossed their hat into the Crawford trade ring. The team is working to negotiate a deal with JR Smith. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer they are low-balling him an offer well off from the player option price he had in his hands. If the Cavaliers cannot get a contract done for Smith, a trade for Crawford might be the next-best option going forward.
