Why Bulls would be wise to consider trade for Crowder originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Trade winds are swirling around Phoenix.
Sunday afternoon, the Suns announced that they have reached an agreement with Jae Crowder that will keep the veteran forward out of training camp as the team, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania, looks to deal him.
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Where exactly the rift between the two sides began is unclear. But what is certain is that Crowder has been a useful role player on winning teams for nearly his entire 10-year NBA career — a 6-foot-6 wing with the ability to play either forward position and provide value on both ends of the court.
That brings us to the Chicago Bulls.
Continuity has been the Bulls’ motto this offseason. Their biggest splash move was re-signing Zach LaVine on a five-year, $215 million maximum contract. Then came the solid — yet marginal — additions of Andre Drummond and Goran Dragić to bolster their back and frontcourt depth.
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But the wing room remains thin, and the roster at large is short on two-way players. If the Bulls want to take another step toward contention this season, both of those areas are pressing ones to address.
Could a pursuit of Crowder be one avenue to do just that? Let’s explore the factors at play:
The Upside
There is a lot to like about Crowder’s fit with the Bulls.
Defensively, he plays with a hard-nosed mentality this team lacked after losing Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso for extended stretches last season — and does so at a position of need.
Entering training camp, DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams are the projected starters at small and power forward. But behind them? Some combination of Javonte Green, Derrick Jones Jr. and the team’s hodgepodge of reserve guards. Crowder is a more than capable option at either spot, as versatile as he is rugged.
Offensively, meanwhile, Crowder would fit snugly in a Bulls unit built around the shot-creation abilities of DeRozan, LaVine and Nikola Vučević. A reliable spot-up shooter, both in terms of volume and efficiency, he doesn’t need the ball to be effective. Crowder shot 36.2 percent on 4.6 catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts per game last season, the latter of which would have tied Coby White for second most on a Bulls team that averaged a league-low 28.8 3-point attempts last season.
Factor in that Crowder is durable — he has missed just 50 games across his decade in the league — and seasoned — his 107 career playoff appearances feature three conference finals and two NBA Finals — and his potential impact is clear.
The Downside
Whether player or draft capital, trading any assets of long-term value for Crowder carries a dose of risk, given he turned 32 in July and is in the final year of his contract.
The team that eventually trades for Crowder will also acquire his Bird rights, which would potentially make it easier to re-sign him after the 2022-23 season. But if he isn’t already on the downslope of his career, those years could be just around the corner.
The Trade
This is the difficult part.
What Phoenix seeks in a Crowder deal is anyone’s guess. His transparent desire to be moved hurts his value, as does his age and expiring contract. But as a team on the cusp of contention, the Suns cannot afford to deal him just for the sake of doing so.
The Bulls, on the other hand, are…
- Without first-round picks in 2023 and 2025 because of the DeRozan and Vučević trades, which also inhibits them from dealing selections in 2024 and 2026.
- Short on tradable players that would match Crowder’s salary without disrupting the core continuity management has touted since the 2022 trade deadline.
- Not likely to make any move that plunges them into luxury-tax land. According to Spotrac, they are roughly $1.7 million under that line as of now.
An offer constructed around, say, Coby White and Javonte Green (or any other Bulls player with a salary in the $2-3 million range) would satisfy the third bullet point. The questions are: Would such a deal intrigue Phoenix? And is this the type of deal that could motivate the Bulls to move White after fielding — but turning their nose at — multiple trade offers for the 22-year-old guard the offseason?
Time will tell.
As training camps get underway, the Crowder saga will be an important one to watch. Should he wind up in Chicago, or with an Eastern Conference competitor, it could affect the Bulls’ fate in 2023.
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