Jamal Crawford has been unhappy this offseason as the Los Angeles Clippers have fortified their bench and seemingly forgot about him. Crawford's future is very uncertain right now as the Clippers have been trying to trade him but the only team interested was the Cleveland Cavaliers up until now. It is being reported that the New York Knicks now have interest in trading for Jamal Crawford, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
The Knicks are currently fairly weak at the guard spots after they have done a solid job of fortifying their frontcourt which is why they have interest in Crawford. Crawford is entering the final year of his contract and is scheduled to make just under $5.7 million next season. In order to make a trade happen the Knicks would likely have to include Jose Calderon but it is unlikely that the Clippers would want Calderon as he is signed for the next two years for more than $7 million a season. If Calderon isn't an option the Knicks are going to have to do something like get a third team involved if they want to acquire Crawford.
The Clippers want to trade Crawford in order to save money against the luxury tax and also because they don't really need him anymore. This offseason the Clippers have brought in Paul Pierce, Lance Stephenson and Wesley Johnson who could all take over Crawford's role coming off the bench. If the Clippers are going to trade Crawford they would likely not want to take salary back they would instead want a draft pick or somebody who is making much less money.
Crawford is reportedly a favorite of many of the Knicks executives and if acquired he would provide some much needed scoring punch for a Knicks team that has only one bonafide scorer in Carmelo Anthony. Crawford previously played for the Knicks from 2004 until 2008 and in those four plus seasons he averaged 17.6 points and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 41 percent of his field goal attempts.
While the Knicks have interest there is no indication that a deal is imminent as the Cavaliers reportedly still have interest as do the Miami Heat. The Knicks would seem like the team with the worst chances of the three to land Crawford as they just don't have the pieces that would tempt the Clippers. Los Angeles could easily just keep Crawford and let him play out the final year of his deal if they don't like any of the offers they receive.
