The benefits of the Jordan Crawford trade
As I’m sure you have all heard by now, Jordan Crawford was dealt to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday along with Marshon Brooks. The two guards were part of a three-way deal that also sent Toney Douglas from Golden State to Miami and Joel Anthony from Miami to Boston. In addition, the C’s also received Philadelphia’s projected first-round pick from Miami and a future second-round pick. Here is a detailed explanation of the draft picks by RealGM:
“Philadelphia’s 1st round pick to Miami protected for selections 1-14 in 2014 or 1-14 in 2015; if Philadelphia has not conveyed a 1st round pick to Miami by 2015, then Philadelphia will instead convey its 2015 2nd round pick and 2016 2nd round pick to Miami [Miami-Philadelphia, 6/28/2012]”
To sum it up, if the Sixers make the playoffs either of the next two years, we will get their first-round pick. If they miss the playoffs both years, we get two second-round picks.
Now I understand that Steez began to grow as a player this season and was an instrumental part of most of the Celtics’ 14 wins. Unfortunately, he was also a big part of the nine-game losing streak that the Celtics recently snapped. Crawford was stellar through the first couple months of the season, but ever since he won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award back in early December, he hasn’t been quite as effective. If you disagree, just look at the numbers. Since winning that award on December 9th, Crawford’s field goal percentage has decreased from 46.4% to 35.9% and his three-point field goal percentage has gone from 40.2% to an abysmal 22.7%. On top of that, the Celtics average points per 100 possessions before December 9th was 108.4 with Crawford on the floor compared to 94.1 when he was on the bench. After December 9th, the Celtics averaged 99.6 points per possession with Crawford and 104.9 without him. Not to mention all of the turnovers that he had been racking up lately. It’s no coincidence that in the Celtics’ first win in 10 games their starting point guard, Phil Pressey, had 10 assists and did not commit a single turnover. Pressey may not be as big and as talented as Steez, but he’s certainly smarter with the basketball. And of course, with Rondo coming back, there is really no need for Jordan Crawford on this team.
The other positive from this deal is obviously the fact that Danny continues to stockpile draft picks for years to come. In the next four years, the Celtics have eight first-round draft picks (possibly nine depending on the Philly situation). What Danny wants to do with those picks is up to him, but it certainly gives the Celtics some flexibility in the trade market and opens the door for a potential blockbuster deal in the next couple years. We’ll have to wait and see.