NBA trade rumor: Jordan Crawford "close" to being traded?

SB NATION
By Jeff Clark

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Not sure how this happens but here's the rumor.


Rajon Rondo is most likely returning to the team as early as Friday night.  Jordan Crawford is set to move to the bench, and maybe as far back as behind Jerryd Bayless on the depth chart.  So it might make sense for the Celtics to see if they can get some value for him via trade.

While Crawford's value has likely dipped (or was never all that high to begin with) recently, there still might be some interest for him.  Peter Vecsey reports that there is.

I can see how the Clippers might be interested.  There's familiarity there between Doc and Jordan and there's a need for a fill in point guard now that Chris Paul is going to miss some time with a separated shoulder.  Darren Collison has filled in admirably, but maybe Doc sees something that's missing.

Of course there's something else to consider.  Any deal these two teams come up with would have to get through the league offices.

Going back to the events of this past summer, where the league stepped in and put a kibosh on combined coach-player trade talks between the Celtics and Clippers.  In at least one scenario, the teams would have exchanged compensation for the right to hire Doc Rivers, then followed up with a trade of players and perhaps picks.  The league saw that as a way of getting around the rules and let the teams know that if they dealt Doc Rivers that they wouldn't be able to make further trades with each other for the next year.

So why is this even a rumor then?  Here's one thought:

Consider me skeptical.  I don't know if David Stern (or Adam Silver for that matter) would appreciate the two teams using a "wink-wink" arrangement to get around rules that were put in place because of another wink-wink arrangement.

To me it is more likely that the two sides could approach the Commissioners office and say "We get why you told us not to deal before, but this deal obviously has nothing to do with that one from the summer.  Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce aren't even on the team anymore and things have changed a lot for both sides since then."  I think if they took that approach, they could get something through.

Of course the Clippers aren't the only ones on that list.  There are also the Nets, Suns, Rockets, and Warriors.  Crawford is also an expiring contract, so there's little commitment associated with him.  In fact, if the Celtics wanted to get a bigger return for him, they could include the "on indefinite leave" Kieth Bogans (a non-guaranteed contract - which is much like an expiring contract).
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Celtics Reportedly 'Close' to Jordan Crawford Trade, 5 Teams Interested in Deal

BLEACHER REPORT - BY DAN FAVALE (FEATURED COLUMNIST) ON JANUARY 15, 2014

Rajon Rondo's impending return has rendered Jordan Crawford expendable for the Boston Celtics.

According to Peter Vecsey, Crawford's days in Beantown are officially numbered:

Crawford's potential departure follows a cryptic tweet from the injured Rondo:

After some number crunching, it became apparent Rondo was dropping a clue as to when he would return from his ACL injury.

"Rondo appears to have even calculated the exact differential in time between his surgery and tipoff on Friday," ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg wrote.

With Rondo's stay on the sidelines drawing to a close, the Celtics are free to deal Crawford, who has served as their primary playmaker in Rondo's absence.

Amid a career year, during which he's averaging a personal-best 5.7 assists per game, Crawford started to draw trade interest before now. The New York Daily News' Mitch Lawrence previously wrote that the Miami Heat were hoping to pick him up in an attempt to acquire some extra backcourt depth.

Miami is not one of the five teams Vecsey lists, though, likely because it doesn't have enough assets to swing a deal.

What's interesting is all five suitors are playoff contenders, showing just how much Crawford's value has increased as a source of instant offense and surprise playmaking. That said, his actual market value remains uncertain.

With Rondo back, the Celtics, apparent tankers, don't need Crawford.

Crawford will enter unrestricted free agency this summer, at which point he'll likely command more than the $3.2 million qualifying offer he's due. Any interested team must keep that in mind because they're either willing to commit money to him this summer or planning to use him as a half-season rental.


Of the five teams interested, it's also not entirely certain who's willing to offer the most. But it does seem that the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors or a dark-horse courter is on the verge of prying Crawford out of Boston.

"I definitely want to be here," Crawford said of staying in Boston, via USA Today's Sean Highkin.

Now more than ever, Crawford's chances of remaining in Boston beyond the Feb. 20 trade deadline appear less than slim.


112288

Who knows?

I don't see this as being something the league office would get involved in, beyond unzipping and sprinkling their usual holy water on it.  This isn't the mega-blockbuster deal that one was, as he calls it, "wink-wink".  This is just a trade.  There's no evidence that Danny, Doc and Donald Sterling had this trade in mind last summer.  There's no evidence there's any attempt to get around anything.  If the league starts kiboshing trades just because there's some history between the incoming coach and the outgoing player then the trade deadline is going to be very, very boring.


bob



.

bobh,

"The league saw that as a way of getting around the rules and let the teams know that if they dealt Doc Rivers that they wouldn't be able to make further trades with each other for the next year."

Our "penalty" for trying to trade a coach (and later, a couple of players) was the above.  For this entire season, we cannot make ANY trades with the Clippers.  That is why we need their blessing.

gyso

Bob,

The league already told both teams that there cannot be any transactions between the Clippers and Celtics until 7/1/14.
I doubt the league will change its stance on that despite what the writer of this story said.

For Jordan's sake, I'm happy if he and his apparently maturing approach to basketball will finally have an opportunity to be evaluated at his natural SG position rather at the PG-by-default slot that he has occupied with the Celtics. And, if the Celtics get something of reasonable value in return, maybe it can be a win-win situation—the best kind!

Sam