The LA Clippers have been mentioned in trade rumors regarding Jamal Crawford, but head coach Doc Rivers has denied that the team is looking to trade the sharpshooter. The Knicks and Jose Calderon have been mentioned as a potential option, but no deal is imminent and likely will not be happening any time soon.
The Knicks and Clippers each have their rosters basically set for camp and while the Knicks have shown reported interest in Crawford, it has not been aggressive. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Rivers spoke about the Crawford situation in a radio interview and he said with confidence that the team is not looking to trade Crawford. Rivers acknowledged that the team made a lot of moves this summer, but he stated that Crawford remains an important part of the roster.
PBT speculates that Rivers also could be saying the team will not just "give away" Crawford, but either way, no deal is close to happening now. Crawford's name was mentioned earlier in the summer in connection with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, but both of those teams have made moves that would make adding Crawford unnecessary. The Knicks interest was reported by Frank Isola in the NY Daily News, but no deal appears to be close to happening.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, Jose Calderon hinted on social media that the Timberwolves and the Clippers are teams that would be interested in trading for him. Fox Sports reported last week that the Knicks also had interest in Ricky Rubio and a deal with Calderon could be a fit there if the Wolves push a move. Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report picked up on that last week and reported that the Wolves are "potentially moving off of Rubio" and could consider trading him depending on how this season goes.
Based on Rivers and his comments, Crawford is not going anywhere anytime soon and things could pick up down the line if either of the teams deals with injuries. Pro Basketball Talk speculated that the Clippers may want some more depth at point guard, as the team has Austin Rivers and Pablo Prigioni as the backups now. Calderon has another year on his deal and that is one complication that could keep him from getting traded. The Knicks have Langston Galloway and Jerian Grant and they may want to keep some veteran depth around with both players still inexperienced.
The Clippers made a number of moves in the offseason and those additions are why Crawford has come up in rumors. Rivers wanted a deeper bench and the team added Paul Pierce, Josh Smith, Prigioni, Wesley Johnson and Lance Stephenson in free agent deals and trades this summer. Crawford still keeps things deep if he stays, but his role likely will be smaller than it has in the past couple years. Crawford is still a strong scoring option off the bench and unless Rivers gets a good deal, he will not trade Crawford.
Check here for more on the Clippers and the potential for a Crawford deal.
