The defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors have a total of seven impending free agents. Certainly, the team is looking at re-signing youngsters Kevon Looney and Patrick McCaw after both played somewhat large roles over the past two seasons.
This still leaves the cash-strapped Warriors with some holes to fill in what might be a depleted bench moving forward.
With only the mid-level exception and veteran minimum deals to offer free agents, Golden State will be relying on ring-chasers to fill out its bench. According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, that now includes three-time Sixth Man of the Year winner Jamal Crawford.
The interesting dynamic here, at least according to Lowe, is that there’s mutual interest in the 38-year-old Crawford signing a vet minimum deal.
“There is some mutual interest between the Warriors and Jamal Crawford in a potential minimum deal, sources say,” Lowe reported. “He might want more than the minimum. It’s unclear if the Warriors will use their mini-midlevel exception, but if they do, it likely will not be on Crawford.”
If this were to come to fruition, Golden State could then hypothetically use its mid-level exception on another player in free agency.
An 18-year NBA veteran, Crawford opted out of his contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves after just one season. He averaged 10.3 points in 20.7 minutes of action. Crawford’s best season came with the New York Knicks in 2007-08 when he averaged nearly 21 points per game. He averaged nearly 20 points for Golden State the following season.
Given that they’re showing interest in Crawford, it’s seemingly a foregone conclusion that Nick Young’s tenure with the Warriors is over after one season.