NBA: 15 Players Living Up To 2015 Summer Contracts

11. Jae Crowder

Isaiah Thomas is the most likely Boston Celtics player to receive All-Star considerations, but with his contributions on both ends of the floor, Jae Crowder may actually be the team’s best player just past the midway point of the season. His numbers — 14.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.8 SPG, 45.3 FG%, 36.7 3P% — don’t leap off the page, but Crowder has been nothing short of sensational.

Considering he signed a five-year, $35 million contract extension this past summer, Crowder might just be Danny Ainge‘s most valuable — and most movable — contract. That clearly demonstrates his importance to the Celtics’ on-court product, but it also makes him something of a blue chip trade piece that could be packaged in a deal for a superstar, which, if you recall, was the whole point of stockpiling all those assets and extra draft picks.

Perhaps it won’t amount to anything before the Feb. 18 trade deadline. Perhaps Ainge won’t be able to swing a deal for rumored targets like Kevin Love or DeMarcus Cousins. But even if Crowder isn’t shipped away to transition Boston into a new era, Brad Stevens and company will be more than happy to continue to make their playoff push with Crowder’s impressive 3-and-D skill set on deck.

Next: No. 10