Getty Jae Crowder #99 of the Boston Celtics.
All indications are that Jae Crowder will be playing for a new team when the 2022-23 season begins. Shams Charania of The Athletic confirmed that Crowder will be parting ways with his current team, the Phoenix Suns, as the two sides will work together to find him a new home.
The Phoenix Suns and Jae Crowder have mutually agreed that the veteran forward will not participate in training camp as the sides work on a trade, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
In light of the former Boston Celtics starter being put on the trade market, Celtics fans have expressed their approval of a possible reunion with Crowder five years after the Celtics traded him.
Others approve of a potential reunion based on everything that the Celtics have gone through in the past month or so.
While voicing their approval of a possible deal, some proposed what they believe the Celtics should offer to the Suns for Crowder’s services.
Knowing where the Suns are at, they will probably want someone who can help them in their next playoff run instead of draft assets.
Crowder was acquired by the Celtics in their return package when they traded Rajon Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks in 2014. In the 202 games Crowder played for them from 2015 to 2017, he averaged 12.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from three, according to StatMuse.
Other Celtics Fans Are Opposed to Crowder Reunion
Other Celtics fans showed their disapproval of the team potentially reuniting with Crowder.
Before anyone asks me about Jae Crowder on the Cs
They explained that they didn’t want him because they believed his ego was too big to accept a smaller role, which would probably be the case if he was traded back to Boston.
Jae Crowder ego too big to be a 8th man
While saying that the Celtics are not getting Crowder back, Ryan Bernardoni echoed a similar sentiment when he said that Crowder most likely wants a starting role with the team he plays for, which is something that he’s had since playing for the Celtics
The Celtics aren’t getting Jae back but one thing I would caution with any team adding him is that he only seems happy when he’s starting and that has been the case since he was with the Celtics
Others pointed out that while Crowder has been part of winning teams in the past, they insinuated that his impact may not have been as big as some people think it was.
According to StatMuse, Crowder has played 56 playoff games over the last three years, which is the most among NBA players in that timespan. That is thanks to Crowder playing in two consecutive NBA Finals in 2020 and 2021 with the Miami Heat and Suns, respectively, though Crowder’s team did not emerge victorious in either series.
Crowder Sounds Off on Next Chapter
After Charania confirmed that Crowder would be parting ways with the Suns, Crowder himself took to Twitter to express his thoughts on the matter.
ONE MUST SEEK WORK WHERE HE IS WANTED.. WHERE HE IS NEEDED.! I AM THANKFUL FOR WHAT THESE PAST 2 YRS HAVE TAUGHT ME.! NOW I MUST TAKE ON ANOTHER CHALLENGE WITH CONTINUED HARDWORK & DEDICATION.! FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO CLOSED THE DOOR ON ME…. THANK YOU! 99 BACK SOON.! 🥷🏾🤫🤐
Young NBA superstar Ja Morant, who was teammates with Crowder his first year in Memphis, quote-tweeted Crowder, strongly hinting that he would like to have Crowder back in Memphis.
Morant then quote-tweeted a video of Crowder hitting a buzzer-beater three to help the Grizzlies beat the Brooklyn Nets in 2019.
Given his history with the team, Crowder could help the Grizzlies a lot if they managed to acquire him, but knowing that both the Suns and the Grizzlies are in the Western Conference with hopes of winning a title, it’d be hard to see the Suns trading Crowder to a team that could get in the way of their goals.