Why OKC Thunder should consider signing veteran Jamal Crawford
Inconsistent offense has plagued the OKC Thunder and with Hamidou Diallo out for potentially six weeks it could behoove the club to sign Jamal Crawford.
The OKC Thunder frequently struggle on offense. In particular, poor starts and third quarter lapses are real and there is the occasional blowout. Although Hamidou Diallo wasn’t the solution his loss compounds the issue. The team could rely on their reserves to fill the gap but it might also be worthwhile to add a proven scorer. Which is where the question of signing Jamal Crawford comes up.
Crawford has been a walking bucket for most of his pro career, he has averaged 14.3 points per game over the 19 seasons of his career. Last season, when playing for the Phoenix Suns, Crawford averaged 7.9 points per game.
He has also averaged 3.4 assists in his career which is good for creation of offense. If Crawford was to come off the bench during a time of struggle, he would be an instant spark which would change the way opposition defenses guarded the Thunder.
With OKC missing the current spark plug Hamidou Diallo due to the elbow hyperextension Abdel Nader is primarily filling this role given his scoring explosion over the last two games.
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However, OKC Thunder head coach Billy Donovan is going to have to use more players over the course of the season. The Thunder have stayed in every game with the exception of two against the Indiana Pacers and the most recent game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
As the season progresses, the young Thunder squad will experience more of these games. Having another experienced head on the team will help avoid those blowouts. Crawford has played 1326 games, with only 433 of them as a starter so he is very used to coming off the bench.
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At the age of 38, Crawford is not going to play huge minutes, nor is he going to play every game. He is simply going to provide a spark at opportune times. Is it worth the risk of signing Jamal Crawford for the OKC Thunder? It most certainly is.