The Phoenix Suns are looking to change their forward rotation with veteran Jae Crowder becoming surplus to requirements in Phoenix. The feeling was mutual as Crowder has been hinting that he wants to leave Phoenix all offseason, which was confirmed later when Crowder was officially put on the trade block after losing his starter spot to Cameron Johnson.
The way in which the Suns have gone about trying to get a Crowder trade done has baffled executives around the league, according to Jake Fischer. Fischer asked an executive in the West about the Crowder situation. They expressed surprise at the Suns losing value for a valuable 2-way forward by showing intention to move on from him.
First intel notebook @YahooSports features none other than the curious holdout of Jae Crowder.
Details on Miami and Atlanta’s interest in the veteran swingman, and other relevant news and notes from Boston, Memphis, Dallas, Utah and Houston: https://t.co/Rya5DXmeCd
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) October 12, 2022
All this has left rival executives questioning why Phoenix barred Crowder from the team in the first place? Was he really that much of a malcontent? It’s considered a cardinal rule that when teams declare their design to trade a player, it intrinsically lowers his value.
“I thought the way Phoenix played the situation was strange,” one Western Conference executive told Yahoo Sports. “You’re not a super deep team. You’re a contender. Doesn’t it seem like there’s some other way to resolve this other than him sitting out and hurting your depth?For Jae to hold out is pretty rare. It’s pretty extreme,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “It’s really interesting they didn’t just play hardball with him.”
Fischer also reported that interested teams so far have been the Miami Heat, Memphis Grizzlies, Boston Celtics, and the Atlanta Hawks. Crowder’s preference is Miami.
How Long Before Crowder Will Be Traded?
The Suns would want to trade Crowder for a player that can help their rotation or for draft assets sooner than later. The issue is that it will be challenging to figure out the right contracts that can be swapped by the teams to make the trade financially eligible.
Many recently signed players cannot be traded til at least December, so teams like Miami will have to wait until then to make a move on Crowder. Out of the interested teams, nobody needs to make a quick move, except Miami who don’t have a starting power forward on the roster right now.
Hopefully, Phoenix get a team offering them an equitable package for Crowder’s services, even though they will definitely be in a position of weakness in the negotiations.
