Report: Jae Crowder claims Suns pushed him ‘out the door’
Jae Crowder has yet to play a single minute for the Phoenix Suns this season. He’s still under contract for $10.2 million for the remainder of the season, the final year of a three-year, $29.2 million free agent deal he signed with the Suns ahead of the 2020-21 campaign.
Mere hours ahead of Media Day in late September, the Suns and Crowder mutually agreed to go part ways while looking for a potential trade partner.
Now, with less than a month ahead of the Feb. 9 deadline, a trade has yet to be found (there’s still time left), and Crowder recently expressed displeasure with how the Suns handled the ordeal to Bleacher Report NBA insider Chris Haynes.
Crowder said players on the team — the Suns have lost 10 of their last 12 and 16 of their last 22 — missed him, also noting that he got pushed “out the door” by the franchise.
“I’ve spoken to every player that I’ve played with on that team and they all have stressed how much they miss [me] and respect my decision, and I’m thankful for their understanding,” Crowder told B/R via text message. “This move of pushing me out the door was a blindsided hit to not only me but my teammates, as you can see from speaking to them and myself and the conversations we’ve had behind closed doors.
“I will continue to prepare myself daily for battle once the call is made and continue to be a leader on the court, locker room, as well as off the court. I am thankful my teammates appreciated my leadership. I’m confused and hurt my coaches didn’t appreciate the things I brought to our team and organization. And this has nothing to do with financial or contract differences.”
Crowder started in 109 of the 127 games with the Suns, averaging 9.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 steals on 40.2% shooting from the field and 36.9% shooting from 3-point range on 5.9 attempts per game. Haynes reported that the 32-year-old has spent the majority of his time in Atlanta working out at Georgia Tech.
Crowder could garner potential trade interest or on the buyout market, if he’s not traded by the deadline. He could be used as a trade chip in a Jalen McDaniels trade, which The Athletic‘s Shams Charania specifically mentioned while talking about the McDaniels’ possible sweepstakes earlier this week.
Yahoo! Sports! NBA insider Jake Fischer reported Thursday that a three-team deal would be the most likely trade avenue for Crowder, citing the McDaniels deal as an example.
Still, any three-team complicates matters because a third organization would need to either take on Crowder’s $10.2 million salary and/or possibly deal additional salary.
“A three-team framework continues to be the most likely avenue that eventually grants Jae Crowder’s exit out of Phoenix,” he wrote. “For the Suns to land a coveted target like Hornets forward Jalen McDaniels, Phoenix could attempt to rope in Milwaukee, for example, where the Bucks have consistently discussed Grayson Allen with rival teams.”
Other teams that could be interested in Crowder, via trade or buyout, would be the Miami Heat (buyout), Washington Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks, among others, though it’s unknown what teams would be willing to give up for Crowder with three months left in the regular season.
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