Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford. (Photo : Getty Images)
Veteran shooting guard Jamal Crawford reportedly decided to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers after the other Hollywood franchise revised their old offer to a new three-year, $42 million deal.
The 36-year-old combo guard had just finished his previous four-year, $21.3 million contract with the Clippers this summer, which made him an unrestricted free agent last Friday.
According to CBS Sports, LA offered him a contract that was less than the team recently gave his teammate Austin Rivers, son of Clippers head coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers, which was a three-year, $35 million deal.
Crawford, a three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year awardee, was reportedly "unpleased" with the offer that he planned "to sign elsewhere" in free-agency. Talks of one-year deals with several teams allegedly took place until the Clips decided to revise their proposal and made it higher than what Rivers had received.
Yahoo Sports confirmed the former Michigan standout's signing with the Clips for the abovementioned terms, saying that "Crawford had discussed one-year deals with several teams around the league, but focused on his negotiations with the Clippers" and that "the third year of the deal is partially guaranteed".
Last season, his fourth with the Clippers after previous stints with the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, and Portland Trail Blazers, he averaged 14.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 26.9 minutes of playing time per night in 79 games for Rivers. He started five games but came off the bench in the rest.
He was then adjudged as the 2016 Sixth Man of the Year winner, receiving it for the third time in his so far 16-year career, after he also won it in 2010 and 2014.
Now that he chose to re-sign with the Clips, Crawford is expected to remain as the same instant scoring threat from the bench after pulling four 30+ offensive games in 2015-2016. His ability to share ball-handling duties is also something that the Clips will not miss this coming season.
However, his efficiency and defense are getting lower and lower through the years, so Doc will have to find a way to surround him with players that can cover for these weaknesses in the second unit as his inherent scoring skills still provide a lot of headaches to opposing coaches.
