Jordan Crawford is the Chicago Bulls’ newest trademark, slightly undersized, self-sufficient bargain-bin guard addition.
For now.
In 2012-13, it was Nate Robinson. In 2013-14, the Bulls, at different points in the season, tried their hand with Mike James and Jimmer Fredette. Last year, it was Aaron Brooks, who remains on the roster.
Now it’s Crawford, who, according to Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania, has agreed to a non-guaranteed training camp deal with Chicago’s finest:
Free-agent guard Jordan Crawford has reached agreement on a contract with the Chicago Bulls, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Crawford, who played in summer league with the Dallas Mavericks, will join the Bulls on a non-guaranteed training camp deal.
In four NBA seasons, Crawford has averaged 12.2 points, 3.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 24.7 minutes per game. He split the 2013-14 season with the Warriors and Celtics – with his most impressive stretch coming in 39 games in Boston where he averaged 13.7 points and 5.7 assists.Crawford signed with Xinjiang in the Chinese Basketball Association last offseason, playing five games before an eye injury. He also appeared in six games for Fort Wayne in the NBA D-League.
Crawford projects as weird fit for a team that already employs Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Kirk Hinrich, Tony Snell and Brooks. He is an undersized shot-creating 2 guard at his heart, and there aren’t going to be a lot of touches or shots to go around in Chicago next season, not even after factoring in the communal difference Fred Hoiberg’s offense will instill.
Of course, it never hurts to have too many ball-handlers in the Windy City. Rose is still an injury magnet, Brooks is the miniature version of J.R. Smith, and Hinrich is goggled dead weight. Crawford, meanwhile, found some success in 2013-14, his last season in the NBA, under Brad Stevens. He played a lot of point guard during his 39-game stint with the Boston Celtics, surprising defenses as an effective primary playmaker.
Sure, Crawford is inefficient. He’s shooting 40.5 percent from the floor for his career, including just 30.6 percent from beyond the arc. But the Bulls, if they choose to keep him, don’t need him to be the next Jamal Crawford. They just need the added comfort of knowing that, should D-Rose go down, they have a committee of guards behind him with which to experiment.
