Reports came flying out this weekend after Jae Crowder tweeted (and then deleted) that he would not be attending Phoenix Suns training camp and the rumor mill has begun to churn with the Milwaukee Bucks being listed as a team that should be interested in the veteran forward. Shams Charania has since reported that the Suns will work to find a trade partner for Jae Crowder with a few teams reportedly having shown interest. Rumors are already being floated suggesting the Milwaukee Bucks should call their 2021 NBA Finals opponent and see if they could snag Crowder from Phoenix.
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The connection was made by Zach Lowe of ESPN on his podcast that after the Milwaukee Bucks looked at possibly trading for Jerami Grant, that trading for Jae Crowder would be something they would consider. The connection of reported interest in Jerami Grant is what leads Zach Lowe to believe the Milwaukee Bucks “will look” at Jae Crowder.
Jae Crowder is currently 32 years old and in the final year of a 3-year/$29.1 million contract. Crowder is set to make $10.1 for the 2022-23 season. Certainly an acquirable contract after the Milwaukee Bucks have been rumored to be interested in other players making more this upcoming season like Jordan Clarkson and Derrick Rose.
Jae Crowder to the Bucks also makes a little bit of extra sense when you factor in that Jae Crowder played his college ball in Milwaukee at Marquette University, so some familiarity for the forward could be a factor if Phoenix is willing to indulge Crowder’s potential preference in where he’s traded.
That being said, this is just a rumor from someone at ESPN, not anyone connected to the team, however, would a Milwaukee Bucks – Phoenix Suns trade centered on Jae Crowder make sense for both teams? Let’s look at a couple possible deals the teams could swing.
The Milwaukee Bucks could offer a pair of guards to Phoenix in a trade for Jae Crowder.
The most likely player to be included in a deal for Jae Crowder is Grayson Allen. His $8.5 million contract is almost enough to trade straight up for Crowder who is making just over $10 million this upcoming season but the Milwaukee Bucks would need to add a little bit more salary to make the deal work as the Milwaukee Bucks are in the luxury tax. So what could one deal be that would work? Grayson Allen and George Hill for Jae Crowder and Josh Okogie.
For this deal to work, George Hill and his $4 million contract are paired with Grayson Allen and the Phoenix Suns can add Josh Okogie who is set to make just under $2 million for the 2022-23 season for a deal that is about as close as you can get financially.
In this deal the Milwaukee Bucks get the switchable defender they appear to be after and a 24 year old Okogie who is on a one year deal that could be looked at to see if he’s worth retaining to develop.
The Phoenix Suns get younger by acquiring Grayson Allen and get a quality backup to Devin Booker, one who would give the Suns more athleticism and grit than they currently have in Landry Shamet. Also the Suns could either flip George Hill and his expiring contract in another deal, or hold him as a veteran backup to Chris Paul.
This deal wouldn’t be bad for either team and works financially, but let’s look at one other option should the Suns not be interested in George Hill or unwilling to part with Josh Okogie.
The Milwaukee Bucks could offer two young wings in a trade for Jae Crowder.
This second deal would still center around Grayson Allen being traded to the Suns for his former Memphis Grizzlies teammate Jae Crowder, but would also include the Milwaukee Bucks sending recently re-signed Jordan Nwora to Phoenix.
This deal potentially makes a lot of sense for both sides. The Phoenix Suns would get not one but two young wing players. Grayson Allen as mentioned on the previous slide would be an upgrade at backup shooting guard over Landry Shamet.
Jordan Nwora could be a sneaky interesting trade piece to the Phoenix Suns as it seems that the Suns like having long, athletic wing players. Jordan Nwora fits that description. If the Suns feel that they could extract the potential from Nwora and get younger by trading Jae Crowder for two players under 27 years old, it seems like a good deal to send out the disgruntled Crowder.
Then for the Milwaukee Bucks, they get another ultra switchable defender and a guy who is capable of knocking down open 3-point looks on offense. Jae Crowder would immediately step into the role that PJ Tucker played for the Milwaukee Bucks during their championship run.
Crowder is reportedly wanting out of Phoenix due to potentially losing his starting position, if the Bucks are trading Grayson Allen, they could start Crowder. Imagine a massive lineup consisting of Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton at shooting guard, Jae Crowder, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. I don’t think it’s bold to say that that would be the best defensive starting lineup in the entire NBA.
Jae Crowder could fit alongside those starters as a 3 and D player, Crowder is a career 34.6 percent 3-point shooter which doesn’t leap off the page, Crowder had an average year in 2021-22 at 34.8 percent, but consider the two years prior (both years the team he was on went to the NBA Finals). In 2020-21 he shot 38.9 percent from 3-point range and in 2019-20 after being traded to the Miami Heat he shot 44.5 percent and helped Miami reach the finals.
The last thing that potentially makes Crowder desirable to the Bucks is sticking him in front of MarJon Beauchamp as an example. If MarJon Beauchamp can learn to have an impact defensively by being able to guard multiple positions and be a serviceable player on offense, similar to the way Crowder has made his way in this league, I think that would be beneficial to all parties involved.
Again, we acknowledge that this is just a rumor, but we have to admit, it makes a lot of sense, almost too much sense. Stay tuned to see if the Milwaukee Bucks make any last minute trades.