NBA Rumors: Jamal Crawford Explains Why He Was Unhappy In Minnesota, Hints At Plans To Join 76ers
Despite never reaching superstar status in the NBA, Jamal Crawford has played 18 seasons in the league, providing solid numbers at both guard positions and winning three Sixth Man of the Year awards. It looks like the 38-year-old veteran still has plans of extending his career for at least one more season and preferably signing with the Philadelphia 76ers, after apparently feeling unsatisfied during his one year playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In a recent interview with Brandon Robinson of Scoop B Radio, Crawford admitted that there was “definitely an issue” with the fact that he was given only about 20 minutes per game by the Timberwolves. As quoted by Amico Hoops, Crawford said that he understands that there are times when players wouldn’t play as much as they would like, but added that he wanted to be “out there as much as possible,” and that things didn’t turn out as he had expected.
“From there, you just try to be as professional as possible and do the best you can to try and provide whatever you can while you’re out there and try to help your team,” said Crawford.
According to Amico Hoops, Jamal Crawford opted out of the final year of his two-year contract with the Timberwolves after averaging 10.3 points and shooting 41.5 percent from the field as one of Minnesota’s top reserves.
Jamal Crawford would be "honored" to play in Philadelphia, per @ScoopB https://t.co/C5a3wl66Da pic.twitter.com/rPct3QdKVv
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) August 11, 2018
With Crawford now an unrestricted free agent, he told Robinson that he would be “honored” to play for the Philadelphia 76ers, where he could be joining a team which, behind the leadership of young stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, won 16 straight games toward the end of the 2017-18 NBA season and made it to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. He also complimented Sixers head coach Brett Brown, while also hyping up his friendship with fellow University of Washington product Markelle Fultz, who is hoping to make up for an injury-riddled rookie season as the first overall pick of last year’s NBA Draft.
“[The Philadelphia 76ers] added Ben Simmons, I love his game. I love Jojo [Joel Embiid]. They’re both among my favorite players in the league to watch. Markelle is like a little brother to me. Obviously, he went to the University of Washington, and we talk every other day. J.J. Redick is like a brother to me, we’ve been through wars together, so [there are] so many things to love about Philadelphia for sure.”
According to Bleacher Report, Jamal Crawford might find some difficulty getting playing time with the Philadelphia 76ers, as the team has Fultz, T.J. McConnell, and Jerryd Bayless all coming back as prospective backups to Simmons and Redick in the team’s backcourt. But given that Fultz played only 14 games in 2017-18, the publication predicted that Crawford could be a good insurance policy for the Sixers as they continue improving in hopes of becoming legitimate championship contenders, and a capable veteran leader for the team’s young core.
