Utah Jazz: 2017-18 player grades for Jae Crowder

Final grade

In case you didn’t pick up on it from the earlier tweet I linked from the man himself, Crowder lost his mom before the 2017-18 season started. In fact, he got the phone call from Celtics general manager Danny Ainge that he had been traded to Cleveland, told his mom, and then she died a few minutes after. How does one judge a season after that kind of trauma?

Jazz and NBA fans alike could Google his postseason performances and assume that he was a failed trade acquisition, and that the Jazz are stuck with his contract for another season, but those people would be mistaken.

As exciting as it is to watch players like Stephen Curry pull up from deep and sink contested 3s, or watch LeBron James dunk his defender into the Upside Down, every player in the NBA has a life and a family outside of basketball. Losing a mother is a traumatic event in and of itself, but to have someone tell you you have to pick up your things and move and try to get acclimated to an entirely different place in a matter of weeks is even harder. His season shouldn’t be judged alone on external circumstances, but they should be kept in mind.

Crowder only knew two teams in his first four years in the league. This past season, he suited up for two more. That meant new teammates, new environments, and learning new schemes while being expected to contribute right away. Crowder isn’t the first player in NBA history to experience this; it happens every offseason to a large portion of the league. Few have tried to play immediately after the death of their mother, however.

All things considered, I’m going to give Jae Crowder a solid B.

Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft - Doncic still No. 1 in post-lottery edition

Grade: B