Well, anytime you can trade a guy with one functioning ACL for a guy with two, you have to do it.
That’s obviously an oversimplification of things, but it’s hard to argue with the logic. The Boston Celtics needed a body in the backcourt, and to get it, they traded a player who was no longer of any use to the team.
The official deal has been reported as follows. The Boston Celtics will acquire guard Jordan Crawford from the Washington Wizards for the expiring minimum contract of Leandro Barbosa, according to Adrian Wojnarowski:
Y! Sources: The Boston Celtics acquire Washington guard Jordan Crawford for Leandro Barbosa. http://t.co/rJLlzST91B
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 21, 2013
It’s a curious trade for Washington, if only because Barbosa is out for the season with a torn ACL. After previous reports had the Wizards landing rookie center Fab Melo from Boston, you’d like to think they could have squeezed a second round pick or something they could use going forward. Since Barbosa is on an expiring deal, the chances he re-signs as a free agent in Washington are slim and none. This is a straight player dump.
The Wizards must feel like this is addition by subtraction, and the further cleansing of an old era of Wizards basketball. Crawford is a bit of a knucklehead -- you may remember him for hits like, “I feel I can be better than Michael Jordan” and his obsession with his “steez” -- but his on court play is probably more destructive than his sometimes peculiar behavior. Crawford is a career 40 percent shooter from the field and a sub 30 percent 3-point shooter, but that hasn’t stopped him from firing up a whopping 17.3 attempts per36 minutes over his career.
While Barbosa used 21.4 percent of Boston’s possessions this year, Crawford has used 27.3 percent over his career. It might take some time for Crawford to get used to less minutes (he averaged 26 a game with Washington) and less shots, but he has to be excited for the shot at reforming his image in one of the most veteran heavy locker rooms in the league.
Crawford is still just 24, he’s a former first round pick, and he does have talent. His raw per36 numbers of 18.1 points, 5 assists, and 4.3 rebounds are only matched by a handful of players in the league, but we’ve still yet to see if Crawford can turn off the part of his brain that tells him to take horrible, horrible shots. He’ll have to do that first to take any significant playing time from Avery Bradley, Jason Terry and Courtney Lee.
For Boston, it’s a low-risk move since they aren’t sacrificing anything of use to them this year or down the line. Crawford is set to make $2.1 million next season, so the Celtics are essentially betting $1.3 million dollars of next year’s budget (the difference between a minimum contract and Crawford’s) that Crawford can help add backcourt scoring pop and depth. That seems like a bet worth making.
For Washington, it’s a bit disappointing. Crawford should have been able to net something of value in return, and Barbosa will never put on a Wizards jersey. Cleaning house is never as easy as it seems, but it’s still hard to comprehend the urgency to move Crawford for absolutely nothing.
Update: Celtics center Jason Collins will also go to Washington as part of the deal.
Boston will send Jason Collins to the Wizards part of Jordan Crawford deal, source tells Y! Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 21, 2013