With a need for some scoring and guard help off the bench, the Los Angeles Lakers should consider signing Jamal Crawford.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been among the best teams all season. Despite being successful the Lakers should look to add some scoring punch off the bench. One quick solution may be Jamal Crawford, who is currently a free-agent.
Jamal Crawford is 39 years old and last played with the Phoenix Suns last season. Don’t be fooled by his age, he can still score in bunches off the bench, and is a guy who the Lakers know isn’t afraid of the big shot.
Last year with the Suns he averaged 7.9 points in 19 minutes. While the numbers don’t stand out, the way he ended the season surely did. In the final week of the season when given more playing time he had games of 51, 27, and 28 points.
In his 51-point performance against the Mavericks he shot 18-of-30 from the field and made seven three-point shots. With that effort he became the only NBA player ever to score 50 or more points with four different teams (Phoenix, Golden State, New York, Chicago).
Over the three games he shot a combined 15-of-30 from 3-point range. The stretch showed that Crawford has something left in the tank. Earlier in the season he struggled to find any consistency. It was understandable considering that he averaged 19 minutes.
Crawford can certainly strengthen a Lakers bench that has struggled to score most nights. Kyle Kuzma has been up and down and guys like Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard aren’t scorers.
Adding Crawford will make life a bit easier for someone like Kuzma as he is a player who can create his own offense. The Lakers don’t have a true scorer off the bench other than Kuzma. Crawford doesn’t need to score 15-20 a night like he once did, he just has to give the Lakers a solid 15-20 minutes.
The Lakers can’t keep relying so heavily on LeBron and Anthony Davis. That’s why it’s important to get a capable scorer to hold the fort down in stretches for the Lakers.
Rob Pelinka should the phones and contact Crawford’s representatives before someone beats them to it.