Jordan Crawford Looks Back Fondly On Good Times With Celtics

WELCOME BACK: Brad Stevens shakes hands with former Celtic Jordan Crawford, who was traded to the Golden State Warriors in January.


Thursday, March 6, 2014



By:  Steve Bulpett

Jordan Crawford removed his Golden State uniform after going for 15 points in last night’s romp over the Celtics. There remained a pile of green gear in his dressing area.

He’s received much of his leftover Celts stuff after being traded to the Warriors in January, but he wanted even more. So the Bruins Proshop made him up an order to go.

He was a Celtic for less than 11 months — just 71 games, including playoffs — but he wanted even more.

“Walking into this locker room and knowing what’s on the other side of the hallway, that was weird,” Crawford said. “But it’s cool. I wasn’t here for long, but it felt like home, you know?”

The Garden didn’t feel much like home last night for the Celts, who trailed by as many as 31 before settling for a 108-88 humbling. Crawford felt for them.

“I was here to win for my team,” he said, “but when we got ahead like that, I was on the bench wanting (Rajon) Rondo to shoot just so he can get his game back and get comfortable.”

Crawford had engaged former mate Rondo in conversation before the game. He had hugged with Danny Ainge, the president of basketball operations who sent him away in a three-team deal on Jan. 15. He had exchanged greetings with Brad Stevens before going out to warm up.

“Hey, Jordan,” said the Celtics coach.

“Hey, big man,” said Crawford as he looked up from tying his sneakers and smiled.

Crawford is now a Golden State Warrior, and while most players would be ecstatic with a move that takes them from a team headed to the lottery to another looking to make a playoff run, the 6-foot-4 guard has some mixed emotions. For a guy who just wants to play ball, his cut from 30.7 minutes a game here to 16.1 with the Warriors is a bit problematic — even though he understands the situation.

There’s also the feeling he developed for this franchise. He came here the February prior as a so-called problem person, but he appreciated the way Ainge and Stevens dealt with him.

“Oh, yeah,” Crawford said. “I miss it actually. I miss it. It was home for a minute. It was the first time I got to play a lot of minutes, got to have ups and have downs and (learn) how to adjust to it. You know, when you’re playing bad, how to get back. I mean, it was a lot of positives.”

Crawford agreed that this was the first NBA place that showed belief in him.

“Yeah, and that’s probably the hardest part in leaving,” he said, “because it really did feel like home a little bit, even though I was only here for about a little less than a year.”

The news that he and MarShon Brooks (since dealt to the Lakers) were headed out caught Crawford off-guard.

“I was a little bit surprised, but I wasn’t, because I actually had a talk with Danny during preseason, and he said it could be possible,” he said. “So it was a surprise when it happened, but after talking with Danny in the preseason, I wasn’t surprised after I got over the first one.”

That was five weeks after his most enjoyable moments in Green.

Crawford was in New York when he learned he had been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for Dec. 2-8. Crawford averaged 23.3 points on 61 percent shooting and 6.7 assists as the Celts took down the Bucks, Nuggets and Knicks. He hit six 3-pointers in the 41-point win at Madison Square Garden.

“Definitely the New York trip,” Crawford said when asked for his best Celtics memory. “We were coming off two games that we won, and we were staying there for like three of four days. I won Player of the Week. Everybody was kicking it. It was a great time. It was a great time; I ain’t going to lie.”

And he isn’t going to shed his Celtics ties any time soon. He is still in contact with Stevens.

“He texted me the other day and told me he was watching the game we played in Phoenix,” Crawford said. “So just to know they’re still watching — you know, getting texts from a lot of people in Boston telling me they miss me — that’s always good.

“(Stevens) gave me the chance. He put me on display at point guard. I think that’s the biggest thing. I wanted to play point guard when John (Wall) was out with the Wizards. They didn’t give me that chance. For somebody to give me that chance, you couldn’t ask for much more.”



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