With the NBA’s free agency period set to officially begin on Friday, the rumour mill is in full force.
21 teams have max. cap space and the money is expected to fly around freely, but with a fairly limited number of “star” quality players available the free agent frenzy won’t be limited to the likes of Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan, Al Horford, and other big names on the market.
Which brings us to Jamal Crawford, the 36 year-old unrestricted free agent and reigning Sixth Man of the Year. Registering the fourth-highest points-per-game last season among the current crop of UFA shooting guards (14.6, trailing, in reverse order, Eric Gordon, Dwyane Wade, and DeRozan) Crawford remains an impacful scorer despite his age, and has shown no real signs of slowing down any time soon. Because every team needs to put the ball in the basket, it should come as no surprise that there’s a pretty deep list of suitors, including his former team, the New York Knicks.
According to this piece from the Orange County Register, the Raptors are also one of seven teams who may be targeting Crawford:
Crawford, who does have a meeting scheduled with the Clippers, is also drawing interest from a number of teams in search of a scoring guard. Crawford is expected to receive interest from the New York Knicks, the Miami Heat, the Toronto Raptors, the Dallas Mavericks, the Orlando Magic and the Brooklyn Nets in addition to the Clippers.
It’s more than a little surprising seeing the Raptors listed there— should DeRozan re-sign it’ll make for a full backcourt that will
In other news, the Orlando Magic have reportedly declined the player option on 26 year-old Mississauga, ON native Andrew Nicholson. A solid face-up power forward, Nicholson was the 19th pick in the 2012 draft out of St. Bonaventure and has excelled playing for the Canadian national team in the past. Alas, given the Magic’s draft-day trade for Serge Ibaka and the emergence of Aaron Gordon last season, Nicholson was the odd man out. He could fill some of the Raptors’ needs at power forward, though is more suited to a bench role than the starting lineup.
