Atlanta Hawks' Jamal Crawford Seeks Trade

Jamal Crawford has shown that he is still good at what he does. That is, score.

Crawford is now reportedly frustrated with the Atlanta Hawks, and will ask for a trade in the near future. Being in the final year of a contract that will pay him $10.8 million, Crawford approached the Hawks for an extension in the first week of July. However, general manager Rick Sund has not offered him anything, leading to this situation.

A likely reason why Crawford has not received an offer yet is because of his demands. He is looking for a contract worth three or four years, paying him around the same amount he's received this year.

The Hawks may be inclined to instead trade Crawford, rather than offering him an extension.

Reportedly, Crawford is also frustrated by how the Hawks management gave teammate Joe Johnson a six-year, $119 million deal, while he received nothing.

It is understandable that the Hawks do not wish to sign Crawford at his terms. After all, he is a one-dimensional player. While he has hovered right under the 20 points per game mark in his career, he does little else on the floor. Last year, his percentages (field goal of 45 percent and three pointers at 38 percent) are much higher than his career averages of 41 percent and 35 percent, so that may also indicate that he may be in for a decline next season.

Nevertheless, Crawford has shown that he can still be a valuable member of any team, as he won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award last year when he averaged 18 points per game in only 31 minutes of action per game. Atlanta is currently a strong team in the Eastern Conference, but they cannot be considered to be in the same echelon as teams such as the Orlando Magic, or, of course, the Miami Heat. Without Crawford, they will have a shallower bench, and likely be a worse team.

Still, nearly $11 million is an extremely steep price for a player that really only scores, and it remains to be seen what the Hawks will do with Crawford.

Sources
Jamal Crawford to ask Atlanta Hawks for Trade - ESPN
Jamal Crawford wants to be traded - ESPN