Report: Warriors land Jordan Crawford, Heat get Toney Douglas in three-team trade
Jordan Crawford is averaging 13.7 points and 5.7 assists this season. (Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Warriors acquired guards Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks from the Celtics on Wednesday in a three-team trade, according to Yahoo! Sports.
As part of the deal, the Celtics received center Joel Anthony, a protected first-round pick (originally owned by Philadelphia) and a future second-round pick from Miami. The Heat obtained reserve guard Toney Douglas from Golden State.
Anthony has a $3.8 million player option for next season, while Douglas will be a free agent in July after playing out his $1.6 million contract. The trade will save the Heat nearly $8 million in salary and luxury taxes this season, according to ESPN.com.
The Warriors are attempting to address their lack of ball handling beyond Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala, but the trade represents a rather sharp turn from the other trade targets reportedly connected to Golden State. Crawford is a world removed from the likes of Denver's Andre Miller or Chicago's Kirk Hinrich. Though skilled at creating his own shot off the dribble, Crawford is more of a solo shot creator than offensive orchestrator. Nevertheless, that's valuable to a Warriors team starved for bench production all season.
Crawford led Boston with 5.7 assists and ranked third on the team with 13.7 points. He is shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from three-point range. The fact that Crawford will be a restricted free agent at season's end could allow Golden State to lock in a potentially useful reserve scorer if the fit is good.
The 25-year-old Crawford had been starting at point guard for the Celtics, who are preparing for Rajon Rondo's return. The four-time All-Star point guard, who hasn't played this season while recovering from a torn ACL, could make his season debut as early as Friday against the Lakers. Boston assigned Rondo to the Maine Red Claws of the D-League so that he can work out with the team Wednesday before returning to the Celtics.
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The 2014 first-round pick that Boston acquired in this deal belonged first to the 76ers but was sent to Miami in exchange for forward Arnett Moultrie in 2012. It also may not be a 2014 pick or a first-round pick at all. It is lottery protected this season, when Philadelphia is poised to miss the playoffs. The same protection applies in 2015 as well. Provided that the Sixers do not make the playoffs in 2015, the pick will actually be conveyed as two Sixers second-round picks -- one in 2015 and the other in 2016.
Brooks, 24, the 25th pick in the 2011 draft, has split this season between Boston and the D-League. He averaged 3.1 points in 7.3 minutes in 10 games with the Celtics, who acquired him from the Nets in the deal involving Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce last July.
Douglas, 27, signed by the Warriors to help replace Jarrett Jack, averaged 3.7 points in 11 minutes in 24 games with Golden State. The Heat will be his fifth team since entering the NBA as the No. 29 pick in 2009.
