Rumors: LA Lakers Should Take A Look At Jamal Crawford As Additional Scoring Option

As the Los Angeles Lakers are not entirely closing their doors on JR Smith to join former teammate LeBron James and the purple and gold gang, they are looking at the forward’s scoring capability to strengthen their line-up come postseason.

During the Cleveland Cavaliers’ championship run in the 2016 season, he’s been the primary option for offense outside the big three that they have during that span, which is not an easy feat having LeBron, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love sharing the same floor with him. He’s averaged 12.4 points on a 40-percent clip from the three-point area, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists to win his lone trophy.

He was competing for that spot with Dion Waiters, whom the Lakers signed for the rest of the season. Both had impressive workouts with the team but the team opted to sign the younger former Miami Heat guard.

Meanwhile, there is a free agent that was unsigned since the start of this season is still waiting for that opportunity each day and for someone who scored 51 points in his last game, there is no scarcity of buckets in the man.

Jamal Crawford is one of the best ballhandlers the league has ever seen. Backed by ClutchPoints claims, the Lakers’ locker room will benefit from the veteran experience and leadership. Crawford will be turning 40 years old this March 20 but at age 39, he was able to prove that he can still be at the same level as the current NBA stars.

Going back to his last game in April 2019, the Mavericks was able to give their long-time star Dirk Nowitzki a fitting send-off as Dallas beat the Phoenix Suns, 120-109, but it was not an easy escape act as Crawford made it hard for them to seal the dub.

He may be at the twilights of his career, his scoring is still going to be a huge lift for the Lakers and that will make LeBron carry a lesser load on offense. He can also lead the bench mob for coach Frank Vogel as he is a three-time sixth-man of the year awardee alongside Alex Caruso and Dwight Howard.

Crawford was named as the oldest player in history to score 50 or more points and had numbers across the board at that 51-point game – 7-of-13 from three, five rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block coming off the bench. If a player is as good as his last game, Crawford’s last game is something more than that.

Drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2000 as the eighth pick overall, he was sent to the Chicago Bulls and has played for eight different teams – Chicago, New York, Golden State, Atlanta, Portland, LA Clippers, Minnesota, and Phoenix. He holds career averages of 14.6 points, 3.4 assists, and 2.2 rebounds.