Jamal Crawford, a three-time winner of the Sixth Man of the Year Award is drawing interest from the Timberwolves, according to Marc J. Spears of ESPN. Crawford was just traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Atlanta Hawks, but he’s requested to be bought out from his contract.
The veteran guard would be in line to make $14 million over the next two seasons, but instead will most likely seek a new deal. With Minnesota having little cap space remaining, they will have to clear out a contract.
Since the Timberwolves currently have an extra draft pick from the Ricky Rubio trade, they could attach the pick to either Cole Aldrich ($7 million) or even Gorgui Dieng ($14 million) to free up additional money. As of right now, the Wolves only have $4.3 million in cap space, according to sportac.com.
At 37 years old, Crawford is one of the oldest players in the game and would obviously be the most seasoned player on Minnesota’s young roster.
In his 17 seasons in the NBA, Crawford has a career shooting percentage of 41 percent, while hitting 35 percent from behind the arc. With the the Wolves lacking shooting depth after trading Zach LaVine, Crawford would fill that role nicely.
Spears notes the Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers also have shown interest in Crawford, so clearly he wants to play for a contending team.
