NBA trade rumors: 5 deals that land Jae Crowder on a Playoff team

NBA Trade: Suns and Grizzlies swap Jae Crowder for Brooks.

Although he only played 45 games in a Memphis Grizzlies uniform, Jae Crowder was a superb fit for the team’s vision. Crowder has to be on the short-list of the players left who offer a grit-and-grind mentality in today’s league. It’s not quite clear whether the same can be said of Dillion Brooks, who like Crowder, is on the last year of his deal. Maybe a swap of the two is what’s best for both teams’ chances of competing in the postseason.

Brooks’ shortcomings were on full display in the Playoffs as he took way too many field goal attempts despite shooting horribly against tough coverage. Yet that’s part of his mentality — Dillon Brooks’ teams live and die by his game. That doesn’t make a ton of sense for a team like Memphis that predicates its offense on unselfish ball movement and playing through its stars. But coming off the bench for Phoenix? Brooks might be exactly what the team needs to keep the wing tandem of Devin Booker and Mikal Bridges fresh.

An instant contender for the Sixth Man of the Year, Brooks can leave his mark on both sides of the floor for Phoenix while allowing Memphis to formally graduate Ziare Williams into the starting five. Crowder also knows most of the team already, offers some firepower from three-point land and fits within the unselfish playing style implemented by head coach Taylor Jenkins.

Grizzlies star Ja Morant publicly supported Crowder via Twitter, reacting to his former teammate’s trade request. He followed up his initial tweet by sharing a video of Crowder’s game-winning triple off a Morant dime. Ja’s tweet read “my dawg got me my first W . 🔒4L” shortly after.

If there’s any team that makes sense for Crowder in terms of identity, it’s the Memphis Grizzlies.