Jamal Crawford to Demand Trade, Wants Out of Atlanta

Jamal Crawford trade talks will heat up when he requests a trade from the Atlanta Hawks this week. Crawford appears to be quite frustrated that he has not received a contract extension from the Hawks, and plans to demand a trade from them if he is not given an offer that he finds pleasing. All of Crawford's people will use the word "request", but this is going to boil down to another NBA player getting upset with the contract he signed and doing everything he can to get out of it. Crawford is set to make $10 million during the 2010-11 NBA season, and would then become a free agent that could sign with any other team around the NBA. Apparently Crawford is ready to get paid more than he is worth.

According to ESPN, the sides are scheduled to meet next week, and that Crawford is looking for a three or four year extension that pays him around the same rate for that span of time. This means Crawford is basically looking for $30 to $40 million over the duration of any contract extension. With the money that the Hawks just spent on extending the contract of Joe Johnson, it is not that much of a surprise that Crawford also wants a huge extension, but the Hawks will seriously have to ask themselves how much a bench player is worth in the NBA right now. Could they find someone else to provide the spark off the bench that Crawford gives them? Or will they just make him play out the contract in 2010-11.

Last season for the Atlanta Hawks, Crawford averaged 18 points per game on 44.9% shooting. He faded horribly in the playoffs, shooting a combined 36.4% from the field, and he continued to take risky shots that took the Hawks out of games against the Orlando Magic. There is no doubt that Crawford provides a valuable asset to the Hawks coming off the bench, and he definitely has a few good years in front of him in the NBA. What the Hawks have to figure out is if they should spend the money on Crawford, or if they need to think about putting that money in a different direction. The equation for Crawford needs to include whether there is actually a trade market out there for him right now. He has already been traded several times in his career, and his value might not be what the Hawks would want in the market.

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