Miami Heat: Is Jordan Crawford Worth A Shot?

For a while now, the Miami Heat have been linked to Jordan Crawford, even dating back to his Boston Celtic days when he took up the bulk of the play-making during Rajon Rondo’s absence. Nonetheless a deal never came through as Crawford, unfortunately for him, ended up as a Golden State Warrior in a backcourt featuring Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Steve Blake.

As a result, his averages plummeted from 13 points and 5.7 assists in more than 30 minutes of action per game,down to 8.4 points and 1.5 assists in just 15 minutes of court time.

Consequently, his stock took a huge shot during the height of the free agency period and he is still without a team or (seemingly) without a lot of options for that matter, since most of the teams already have pieces in place at shooting guard.

However, perhaps the Miami Heat should give him a chance.

With only Dwyane Wade locked in at the 2, the Heat really need to find some help at the position. Wade has never played the full 82-game NBA regular season schedule since coming into the league in 2003. The closest he’s got to the mark is 79 games, which he did back in 2008-09 when he took home the scoring title.

Furthermore, he has missed nearly a full season’s worth of games (74 to be exact) over the past three years. So if he can’t do it at the peak of his health, with a great supporting cast surrounding him, then what hope does he have at 32 years old with 11 years of NBA basketball on his knees (including four deep playoff runs in each of the last four seasons) and the burden of carrying a team?

None … and this is coming from an optimist.

To be fair, the Heat have already made strides towards addressing the position by inviting veterans Shannon Brown and Reggie Williams as well as rookies Tyler Johnson and Andre Dawkins to the training camp. By process of elimination, smart money is that one (or both) of either Brown or Williams will make the cut, although none of them brings much high calibre offensive play to the table, which

This is where Crawford comes into play. Plus, there’s reportedly already been some interest.

Per Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson:

"“The Heat are serious about adding another shooting guard and a big man if it can find two good ones willing to take the veteran’s minimum. After recently working out Jordan Hamilton (who signed with Toronto) and Chris Douglas-Roberts, the Heat also has inquired about Leandro Barbosa and Jordan Crawford, who both hold appeal to Miami.”"

As already mentioned, the 25-year-old did a great job filling in at the TD Garden while Rondo was recovering from his knee injury. He essentially ran the offense as Brad Stevens often relied upon his creativity keep the scoreboard ticking.

That’s because the Xavier product is a respectable shooter in his own right; however, where he excels the most is off the dribble. He is great during pick and roll situations because he is able to find his teammates for easy baskets or score the ball himself.

And just like his namesake, Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford, once he gets going, there really isn’t much you can do to stop him at times.

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Moreover, even though he is listed as a shooting guard, thanks to his ball handling and passing ability, he can also have cameo appearances as a point guard – which of course Miami have plenty of in

,

and the newly drafted Shabazz Napier, but you can never have too many versatile players. Just ask the San Antonio Spurs coaching staff.

Still, there are a few problems with going after Jordan Crawford.

1) Defense – His defense isn’t good. Not James Harden bad; but not great either. And to a coach like Erik Spoelstra, whose primary philosophy is defense, that is a huge red flag.

2) Money – Crawford is looking for a somewhat lucrative contract. The best Miami can offer him is a minimum salary. So unless he gives in and takes the minimum or cap space sprouts somewhere, then this deal isn’t happening.

3) Overcrowding – Sure, the team has a need at the position and Crawford would bring some good qualities into the mix, but there are already four players vying for the role. At best, only two can make it and he’s already trailing.

4) Shot selection. For all the razzmatazz he brings, Crawford does have a tendency of taking rather wild shots, thus his career 30.5 3 point-percentage and 40 percent overall field goal rate. Miami already has history with a fairly talented offensive player with an affinity for hoisting up questionable shots and not playing defense, known as Michael Beasley.

He is currently without a team right now, although he did have two stints in Miami so the comparison could be a good or bad thing, depending on whether you’re a glass half full or half empty kind of person.