Report: Former Suns guard Jamal Crawford agrees to deal with Nets
Jul 8, 2020, 5:44 PM | Updated: 5:44 pm
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Former Phoenix Suns guard Jamal Crawford’s long, long wait is finally over.
After going unsigned through last offseason and most of the 2019-20 season, he has a home. The Brooklyn Nets and Crawford have agreed to a deal, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Through the Suns’ injuries and lack of ball-handlers, Crawford’s role varied over the season. He averaged 7.9 points and 3.6 assists per game on 18.9 minutes a night.
As one of the most well-respected NBA veterans in the last several years, Crawford’s locker room presence as an established veteran helped the Suns greatly. Devin Booker, in particular, spoke often on the impact of having one of his basketball idols growing up mentoring him throughout the season.
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While Crawford’s poor defense and efficiency at 39.7% shooting being negatives in his play, he adapted quickly to the Suns needing more of a point guard and distributor.
Crawford averaged a career-high 6.8 assists per 36 minutes, proving he could get back to some of the early days in his career running the offense. He also scored 51 points in the Suns’ final game of last season.
The 39-year-old was one of the most notable names not on an NBA roster throughout the season. Crawford is a three-time Sixth Man of the Year award winner and is widely regarded as one of the best one-on-one scorers to come in the league the last 20 years.
He will help an ailing Brooklyn Nets team that will already be without Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, Taurean Prince and DeAndre Jordan in the Orlando bubble. Former Suns guard Tyler Johnson also signed with Brooklyn.
