Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Clippers enter the 2015 NBA Draft without any draft picks currently under their belt. It may be vital for the team to make a move in order to acquire a draft pick that could possibly improve their roster. In order to do that, however, Los Angeles may have to part ways with one of their pieces. The only player that really makes sense is Jamal Crawford.
Crawford, even at 35 years of age, is still the Clippers’ best option off the bench. He is a two-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year award winner. But as good of a scorer and ball-handler as Crawford is, he’s pretty one dimensional. There should be plenty of suitors for Crawford’s services, but it is unlikely that the Clippers will ship him to another contending team.
Crawford time in Los Angeles has been rather rewarding for the Clippers, but the team has gotten pretty much all they can from him. He’s only growing older and their window for winning a championship is slowly closing. This is not to say that Crawford is no longer a valuable asset, but the team must make a move if they are going to seriously contend next season.
If the Clippers do acquire a first round pick, he likely won’t be better than Crawford, at least right away. But the move would clear up some cap room for Los Angeles to possibly bring in another key player.
There are plenty of directions the Clippers could take with Crawford, but regardless, it is likely that the sharpshooting veteran will not be in a Clippers uniform next season.
