Getty Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant against Knicks
Jamal Crawford signing with the Brooklyn Nets is quite underrated according to retired NBA player, Ryan Hollins.
J.R. Smith to the Lakers? Jamal Crawford to the Nets? @TheRyanHollins and @bwood_33 break down who they think is the best veteran signing before the NBA restart.
“I’m not going to say he’s just going to light it up for 50 to 60 points a night in the bubble,” Hollins, now a CBS Sports Network analyst told co-host Brendan Haywood on The Opinionated 7-Footers Podcast earlier Thursday.
“But, here’s the reality: I’m looking forward. He can build a rapport with his teammates and the front office and then next year, you’re going to have Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and being an amazing locker room guy on top of being a walking bucket that Jamal Crawford is; he can bring some stability to that locker room. The Brooklyn Nets organization, the next year for the Brooklyn Nets is arguably going to be the most pivotal year in Nets history. So I would look forward and say that Jamal Crawford, his signing could be by far the most influential.”
The Nets are without Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Wilson Chander, Taurean Prince, Nic Claxton and Michael Beasley at the restart in Orlando either due to injury or COVID-19 positive tests. Crawford has already done his homework on the roster who will participate in the restart.
Hollins believes that Orlando’s bubble is the beginning of a beautiful relationship between Crawford and the Nets.
“Brooklyn Nets would be absolute fools if they did not keep Jamal Crawford next year,” Ryan Hollins told me by phone.
“He’s one of the most calmest forces in that locker room & respected. He speaks the same language of scoring and the Nets have to win a championship next year.”
“Jamal Crawford has the respect of the league and with a team that has to compete for a championship next season in the Brooklyn Nets, in the biggest market in NYC, they need a calming force like Jamal Crawford to ease tension, drama and media scrutiny.”
A three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year award recipient, Crawford, 40, hasn’t played NBA basketball this season.
The last time he stepped on the court, Crawford scored 51 points in his final game last season as a member of the Phoenix Suns. Crawford averaged 7.9 points per game and in the last three games of last season, he scored 106 points.
Crawford is ready, willing and able to do what is asked of him in Brooklyn. “This situation, it kinda works in our favor,” Crawford told me on the Scoop B Radio Podcast last week.
“It’s kinda like an AAU game. We really get to lock in.”