Latest Updates On Where Jae Crowder Could End Up In Trade Talks
After posing 51 wins during the 2020-21 season and then 64 wins a season ago, the most in the NBA, the Phoenix Suns have been struggling at 27-25 this year.
A lot of this is due to injuries, as Devin Booker has not played since December 25 and others in Cameron Johnson, Cameron Payne, Chris Paul and Landry Shamet have missed chunks of time, but the team has also been without veteran Jae Crowder the entire season.
Crowder did not take the team’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs last season well and after the Suns elevated Cam Johnson into the starting rotation in place of the veteran forward, Crowder requested a trade.
There has been interest in Jae Crowder throughout the course of the first half of the season, yet Phoenix has not traded him yet and 52 games into the season, they remain without a plan.
The NBA trade deadline is next week now, which has created a sense of urgency within the organization to get a deal done for any value they can salvage at this point, especially with Crowder being in the final year of his contract.
Teams continue to talk with Phoenix on potential deals and it does seem like a deal could happen within the next week.
“There has obviously been a lot of talk about the Milwaukee Bucks, the Atlanta Hawks as well, and there have been just so many different three-team constructs of trade talks with Phoenix regarding Jae Crowder,” HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto said recently on The Fast Break Podcast. “I am not sure if we see a dark-horse team come in, but Phoenix is not going to get true value for him anymore and Crowder is essentially a rental at this point if the team trading for him is not wanting to keep him long-term. I know the Miami Heat have also had interest as well, but Miami is not going to want to give up one of their key contributors like Caleb Martin.”
Several weeks ago, there were trade discussions held between the Suns and Bucks with the Houston Rockets being a third team involved to help facilitate a potential Crowder to Milwaukee trade, but these talks ultimately fell through and the Suns have basically been at a standstill with other teams on deals regarding Crowder.
“I think it is going to be tough for Phoenix to get good value and I will say this Brett, I know that Crowder was disappointed that Cameron Johnson was essentially given his starting role without having to compete for it in a contract year,” Scotto went on to say. “But clearly he would have been better off coming off-the-bench and he would have ironically ended up being a starter for the Suns, helping his trade value in the process.”
Milwaukee remains a focal point in trade talks for Jae Crowder ahead of the trade deadline and there could be other avenues to the Bucks getting their hands on the veteran.
The New York Knicks are a team that is looking to make some moves ahead of the trade deadline this season and Cam Reddish is an intriguing young talent that has drawn a level of interest around the league.
Both the Bucks and Suns were said to have interest in Reddish at one point this season and should this still be the case, we could potentially see a three-team deal where Jae Crowder goes to Milwaukee, Cam Reddish to Phoenix and Grayson Allen, a player the Suns have not wanted, goes to New York, a team that has had interest in Allen according to Scotto.
Of course, this is just the hypothetical framework of a potential three-team deal that could work, as other players and draft assets would likely be involved.
“Grayson is certainly a moveable piece for Milwaukee because of his contract. He’s played well this season though in any role that they have needed him in, so I do not think this is a scenario where the Bucks are going to just move Grayson Allen just to move him,” Scotto continued on The Fast Break Podcast. “It will be interesting to see if this all comes to fruition because the talks of the Bucks moving Allen for Crowder have been around for a while. I am of the belief that if something was to happen and there was interest from both sides, something would have happened already.”
Milwaukee, a team that has been in hot pursuit of Jae Crowder for quite some time, will have quite a bit to sort out ahead of next week’s trade deadline if they are to get the upgrade that they have been looking for on the wing.
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