3 and D players are necessary for any team to win at a high level. While they are not as important as offensive superstars for a team, that sort of player has been found on almost every modern NBA championship team.
Jae Crowder is one of the best 3 and D players in the league today. Crowder can effectively guard four positions and provides solid 3PT shooting. He is a fantastic complementary player, and he was notably part of the Phoenix Suns Finals run in 2021.
Jae Crowder Could Be On The Move
Despite his skill set and ability, it seems as though the Phoenix Suns have started exploring trades around Jae Crowder. NBA insider Brian Windhorst of ESPN revealed that the Phoenix Suns have made Jae Crowder “available” on the trade market, and noted that a lot of their trade negotiations involve the forward. (0:08):
They’re conducting business. They’re in trade negotiations right now. A lot of them are centered around Jae Crowder. Jae Crowder is a player that is available on the market right now… Jae Crowder is a guy in the last year of his contract… It would not surprise me if the Suns get involved in the negotiations for Bojan Bogdanovic.
As Brian Windhorst mentions, the Suns could potentially make a move for Bojan Bogdanovic. In fact, it was previously reported by Suns insider John Gambadoro that they have already “reached out” to the Jazz about the forward.
The Phoenix Suns have interest in trading for Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic, Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported Thursday evening.
Phoenix reportedly reached out to the Jazz about the 33-year-old following Utah’s trade of All-Star Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.
Bogdanovic is entering a contract year after scoring 18.1 points per game in 69 starts last season.
Bogdanovic hit 38.7% of his shots beyond the arc in 2021-22 for a Utah team that earned the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference, plus he has playoff experience with 47 career games.
It remains to be seen what sort of moves the Phoenix Suns end up doing in the future. Obviously, trading Jae Crowder’s expiring contract instead of potentially losing him in next year’s free agency without a return is a good move for the Suns. He could potentially have some extra value as an expiring contract as well.
The Phoenix Suns were eliminated in the second round this season by the Dallas Mavericks. This was a disappointing outcome for them, as they expected to get back to the Finals. Hopefully, we see them bounce back next season, and the Suns will definitely be one of the contending teams next season.
