A few days ago, veteran guard Jamal Crawford was spotted at Talking Stick Arena. After being offered a contract, he has accepted and is the newest member of the Phoenix Suns.
When the news and photos first came out of Jamal Crawford being spotted in Phoenix, various reactions followed. Some were opposed to a signing and others were in favor. As it is with any move, really, there were good points on each end.
However, the move has now happened. He is the newest member of your Phoenix Suns. And, you should be happy with him now a Phoenix Sun.
Interim general manager James Jones had to make his first move at some point. I, for one, believe this was a good one.
On a rebuilding team, it could be argued that it’s not a good fit to bring in a 38-year-old.
I mean, look at it this way: he was drafted 3 years before Jones – the interim GM. This team is far from a contender right now. What are they doing?
Or, look at it from Ryan Anderson’s perspective. This is another vocal vet who can come in and teach these young guys, especially at the guard positions. He will be really helpful.
The third view is to take an angle from purely the basketball side of things.
With no proven point guard and with the Suns really struggling on the offensive end, the front office needed to find a solution, even if short term and not a player that will be in the team’s future.
James Jones said they need a proven shooter/scorer. The team looked at available free agents. They found a guy that’s been in the league for 17 years and has a career scoring average of 15 points per game on a 34.9% 3-point clip, making 1.7 treys per game.
A guy that has a trio of 6th Man of the Year awards on his mantle.
A man that is well respected, is overall a great dude, and last season was awarded the NBA Teammate of the Year award.
And someone that would sign for the veteran’s minimum.
It’s a little harder to say no now, isn’t it?
The Suns showed this summer with the additions of Ryan Anderson and Trevor Ariza and by keeping Tyson Chandler while adding several young pieces, that while they remain in a rebuilding phase and are focused on their youth, they want to transition to competitive, winning basketball as quick as possible.
This move fits in with Head Coach Igor Kokoskov’s style of basketball, wanting the team to take at least 30 triples per game. It also helps with spacing the floor for slashing wings, and as weird as this sounds on the Suns, a legitimate post presence rookie.
While his 3-point shooting numbers are not out of this world, they aren’t as nightmarish as the preseason shooting the majority of the team displayed.
And, he is a much better mid-range shooter than given credit for as well.
It is no surprise that the Phoenix Suns need a point guard and Crawford has played point guard in the past. There is no doubt he could make a duo with Devin Booker that provides serious play making and shooting in the starting lineup.
And, if he comes off the bench with the likes of Troy Daniels we now have good shooting depth.
This is a win win.
Crawford’s presence on the team also makes it easier for the likes of T.J. Warren and Josh Jackson to come in and play their games while not being forced to hit triples outside of their comfort zones and along with Ariza they provide them additional time to improve their shooting.
At 38-years-old, no, Jamal is not what he used to be. But, he’s still more than good enough to be on an NBA roster and would help this Suns team more than people think he will.