Cleveland Cavaliers Rumors: Cavs Front-Runners for Jamal Crawford
Jamal Crawford has now become one of the most sought-after free agents left on the market after he secured a buyout from the Atlanta Hawks.
The Los Angeles Lakers were the front-runners for his signature early on when the Los Angeles Clippers traded him to the Hawks, but ESPN's Marc Spears has reported that they might no longer be in the running since both sides seemed to have lost interest in a potential deal.
With the Lakers out of the picture, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Washington Wizards are expected to pursue the veteran shooting guard.
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However, the Cavaliers may have emerged as the favorites to land Crawford right now.
Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon says that a source told them that Crawford was "Cleveland's to lose." Apparently, the 37-year-old guard had a chat with LeBron James, and now he is very interested in joining the Cavaliers.
"The most Cleveland could pay Crawford is the taxpayer's mid-level exception to the salary cap (worth $5.2 million), but after conversing with James, Crawford is highly interested in joining the three-time defending Eastern Conference champs," Vardon wrote in his report for Cleveland.com.
LeBron James isn't doing any recruiting this year, but Crawford was reportedly the one who reached out to him.
Vardon also said the Cavaliers are attempting to bring Cedi Osman over from Turkey, and giving Crawford their $5.2 million taxpayer's mid-level exception may prevent them from doing so.
Well, if they had to choose, a proven veteran like Crawford is a better option compared to an untested rookie like Osman.
In other news, ESPN's Brian Windhorst has reported that Jeff Green has agreed to sign a one-year, $2.3 million deal with the Cavaliers.
Green averaged 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 69 games (11 starts) with the Orlando Magic last season. He should give the team some depth at the forward positions.
