Report: Jamal Crawford Interested In Celtics If Bought Out
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Celtics may have landed their big fish in Gordon Hayward, but they'll also need to fill some roster holes on their bench as well. They could be in line to land some scoring help in the form of Jamal Crawford.
Basketball Insiders' Michael Scotto tweeted on Thursday that Crawford, who is expected to be bought out by the Hawks after being sent to Atlanta in a three-team trade with the Clippers and Nuggets, would consider joining the Celtics if a buyout took place. However, Crawford would also draw interest from the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Bucks, Wizards, and Lakers, according to Alex Kennedy.
A 17-year veteran, Crawford has averaged 15.3 points per game in 1,182 career games over the course of his career. He is also a career 86.1 percent free throw shooter. He spent the first half of his career as a go-to scoring guard for the Bulls, Knicks, and Warriors, before evolving into a sixth man role.
Crawford has won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award three times in his career, most recently in 2015-16 for the Clippers. He averaged 12.3 points and 1.4 three-pointers in 26.3 minutes per game in 2016-17.
The Celtics could certainly use Crawford's instant offense off the bench. His mentorship to Isaiah Thomas could also give the C's a leg up on other teams. But if they are interested in the veteran's services they will have plenty of strong competition, especially from the Cavs.
