Utah Jazz: 2017-18 player grades for Jae Crowder

Strengths

Grit. Determination. Hard-nosed. These are common adjectives used to describe what NBA teams are looking to add to their team when it comes to 3-and-D guys. Crowder was above the league average in 3 point shooting this past season (40.4 percent from deep; 41.8 percent in Cleveland, 38.6 percent in Utah), but it’s his defense that is his calling card.

When Jae Crowder was initially traded to Utah, this is what resident sharpshooter and fan favorite Joe Ingles had to say about Crowder’s (defensive) tenacity in a interview with the Deseret News:

"“He’s done that from day one,” Ingles described. “He didn’t know any of us the day he walked in and early on in those first few games he was the first one into anything that happened and I hope we’re all here for a very long time.”"

Crowder has played with a ferocious intensity every time he’s stepped onto the court since entering the league, but it was even more ironic that he was traded to the team where a certain player who’s treated like Voldemort by Utah essentially was set to replace his spot in the starting lineup:

Crowder responded that night (21 points, 5-of-6 on 3-point attempts), but certainly carried a chip on his shoulder during his time in Utah.

He certainly endeared himself to Utah fans at points, but there were other points that left him as well-liked as Gordon Hayward is now.