Nets sign Jamal Crawford for NBA restart

Forty-year-old veteran Jamal Crawford of Seattle, Washington has found an organization to play with for the rest of the 2019-20 National Basketball Association regular season. On Thursday, the Brooklyn Nets came to terms with Crawford on a contract. The financial terms have not yet been released according to Logan Newman of USA Today. 

There is no doubt that the Nets enter the NBA restart as one of the most vulnerable organizations in the entire league. Forwards Taurean Prince and Kevin Durant, along with point guard Spencer Dinwiddie and center DeAndre Jordan have tested positive for coronavirus. Meanwhile, star guard Kyrie Irving and rookie power forward Nick Claxton are both out with shoulder ailments.

So, the Nets will look toward a player who was born in 1980 to be part of their mix. Crawford has 19 years of NBA experience with the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Phoenix Suns.

Last season, Crawford averaged 7.9 points per game and 3.6 assists per game with the Suns. It was the first time since his sophomore season in Chicago in 2001-02, that he did not average in double digits when it came to points. Crawford has averaged 14.6 points per game in his career, and had a career-high 20.6 points per game with the Knicks in 2007-08, and led the NBA in free-throw shooting at .927 with the Trail Blazers in 2011-12.

Crawford also has had great success coming off the bench. Three times in his career he won the NBA Sixth-Man of the Year Award. The awards came in 2010 with the Hawks, and 2014, and 2016 with the Clippers. The Nets enter the restart seventh in the East with a record of 30 wins and 34 losses.