Hoops Habit
Fansided

Los Angeles Clippers: 3 Trade Scenarios For Jamal Crawford

By Cameron Stewart

May 6, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford (11) shoots the ball during the third quarter as Houston Rockets forward Trevor Ariza (1) defends in game two of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
May 6, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford (11) shoots the ball during the third quarter as Houston Rockets forward Trevor Ariza (1) defends in game two of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
Jan 21, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison (7) looks on during a timeout in the game against the Brooklyn Nets at Sleep Train Arena. The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Sacramento Kings 103-100. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison (7) looks on during a timeout in the game against the Brooklyn Nets at Sleep Train Arena. The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Sacramento Kings 103-100. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /

Clippers receive: Darren Collison
Kings receive: Jamal Crawford

If you’re an NBA team looking to fleece someone in a trade, your first call should be to the Sacramento Kings. Has their front office done anything since DeMarcus Cousins fell into their laps to think they have any idea on how to run an NBA team?

This trade wouldn’t be a humongous steal for the Clippers, but would give them one of the league’s best backups. Collison came into the league backing up Chris Paul in New Orleans and did a spectacular job stepping up when Paul went down. Collison reprised his role as Paul’s backup in 2013-2014 with Doc Rivers and the Clippers and averaged 11.4 points and 3.7 assists in 25.9 minutes per game. Collison is one of those fringe starting point guards who can survive as a starter, but is ideally a backup for a team with championship expectations. If the Clippers traded for Collison, they would turn a question mark at Chris Paul’s backup into a strength. Paul played all 82 regular season games last year but has been hampered with injuries over the years. As he enters his thirties, a high-end backup like Collison could prolong Paul’s prime and be great insurance if Paul were to need to miss games. Also, the Clippers would have Collison under contract for next season at just $5 million, a bargain of a deal as he’d sure fetch more than that on the open market.

The Kings signed Rajon Rondo this season to a one-year, $9.5 million deal. Even after his disastrous season last year with the Celtics and Mavericks, it’s hard to imagine they signed Rondo to be a backup. If the team were satisfied with Collison’s play last year at point guard, they would’ve spent their money elsewhere. Trading Collison for Crawford wouldn’t make too much sense for the Kings from a logical standpoint other than getting a proven scorer off the bench, but when has anything the Kings done made sense?

Next: NBA Finals History: Ranking The Last 50 Champions

More from Hoops Habit

Home/LA Clippers