The Phoenix Suns should NOT sign Jamal Crawford
By Kyle Manthe
After the recent firing of Ryan McDonough and promotion of James Jones it appears that Jones is wasting no time making his presence felt. He also appears tired of being the old man in charge as it appears the Phoenix Suns have interest in 38-year-old guard Jamal Crawford. This signing would have all the makings of the common rushed first move a new general manager would make, and should be avoided.
According to some video and some interesting answers over the radio, (and now a more official report) it indeed appears that Jamal Crawford is currently, or has already visited, the Phoenix Suns.
Although it is not surprising to see James Jones being active early on in his tenure as the franchise’s interim general manager, I am surprised with and unsure of the route he would be taking with Jamal Crawford.
Coming off the worst statistical season since his early 20’s, and now at 38, Crawford is no longer the valuable player that is associated with his name.
In a vacuum there is nothing wrong with Crawford. He is still good enough to be on an NBA roster, especially at the small short contract he will likely be on.
For the Suns though, this move would be puzzling in a few ways.
As it stands right now, the Phoenix Suns will still need to cut one player before the regular season begins (this is assuming Darrell Arthur is not on the roster). By adding Crawford Phoenix will then have to cut two players, of which the entire roster – outside of Tyson Chandler - being at least 10 years younger than Crawford.
It would not be smart to potentially sacrifice one of Shaq Harrison, Isaiah Canaan, Davon Reed, or even Dragan Bender (it might be time), for one season of Crawford.
While adding Crawford sounds fun for all of the nostalgic reasons – and potential random scoring outbursts – it just does not make sense for basketball reasons.
He is not a point guard, a deadly 3-point shooter, and he is a poor defender.
As a comparison, Crawford is essentially Troy Daniels, except instead of shooting 3’s and not being 38-years-old, he shoots long 2’s and unfortunately is 38-years-old.
Next. Ryan McDonough’s three worst moves. dark
Although signing a veteran like Crawford for what would likely be for one-year and the league minimum is not something that is going to drastically hurt the Suns, it is also not going to significantly help them.
This along with a confusing fit in the modern NBA should give the Phoenix Suns plenty of reasons not to pursue Jamal Crawford.