Jamal Crawford has found a home in the NBA.
The shooting guard agreed to sign with the Brooklyn Nets to play in the Orlando bubble, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
This comes after four Nets rotation players have declared they will not play in the tournament. Taurean Prince, DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Dinwiddie and Wilson Chandler will all miss out on Orlando, which creates extra strain on a team saddled with injuries to Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Nic Claxton.
Crawford is one replacement player who will step into a role with the team.
A longtime explosive offensive option in the NBA, Crawford found a niche this past decade as a sixth man off the bench. Since 2010, he has averaged more than 14 points per game and only started 40 of 729 contests.
While fans throughout the league have clamored for a team to sign him, the Nets aren’t getting that version of the star role player; over the past three seasons, Crawford’s production has dwindled.
Last year, with the Phoenix Suns, Crawford averaged 7.9 points on 39.7% shooting and 33.2% from deep. He wasn’t a productive player on the 19-win Phoenix team, and has remained unsigned since.
But there is still some juice in him: Crawford finished his Suns tenure with a 51-point outburst. Over the final three games, in which he played 34 minutes, 27 minutes and 38 minutes, respectively, he scored 28, 27 and 51 points on 52.9% shooting from the field and 50% from 3.
The Nets hope some of that productivity remains as they try to keep their hold on the seventh seed.
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