After months of speculation and the Brooklyn Nets becoming the middleman, the Milwaukee Bucks were finally successful in their pursuit of acquiring Jae Crowder.
Crowder represents exactly the type of player the Milwaukee Bucks have been looking for in the form of a veteran defensive-minded wing player. The fact that Jae Crowder is a respectable 3-point shooter doesn’t hurt either.
A week ago, on the ‘This League Uncut’ podcast, Chris Haynes mentioned that he had spoken with Jae Crowder and felt that things were “pointing to Milwaukee”. Well, Crowder was right about that, and he seems happy about it.
It is very likely if not certain that during those talks General Manager Jon Horst and Head Coach Mike Budenholzer laid out their plans for the role they anticipate Jae Crowder occupying. If that’s the case Jae Crowder seems enthusiastically on board.
Jae Crowder’s reaction to being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks.
CUT OFF MY FINGER TO SAVE MY HAND… 99 BACK AGAIN.!! 😈😈😈😈🫡
— JAE CROWDER (@CJC9BOSS) February 9, 2023
Jae Crowder, in a weird way, expressed his emphatic excitement to be returning to NBA action. The “cut off my finger to save my hand” part of the tweet seems to be that he feels that sitting out the first portion of the season is metaphorically comparable to losing a finger, but now that he has landed with the Milwaukee Bucks, he feels that by doing so could save his season. Also, who knows, if Jae Crowder helps the Milwaukee Bucks win another championship, the metaphorical cutting off of one finger could mark a turning point in his career that helps him earn one more big contract this upcoming off-season.
Jae Crowder’s reaction to being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks remains strongly optimistic.
https://twitter.com/CJC9BOSS/status/1623769443292569602?s=20&t=MuhIupT9IPjEvgP96H3OCw
In his second all-caps tweet following the news of his trade to the Milwaukee Bucks, Jae Crowder expressed his gladness to be back home in Milwaukee. Crowder spent two seasons in Milwaukee in college at Marquette as a member of the Marquette Golden Eagles. Crowder was a teammate of Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler in his Marquette days.
Jae Crowder is clearly eager to get back to playing in the NBA and seems thrilled to be joining the Milwaukee Bucks. Bucks fans are likely equally as excited to welcome Crowder back to Milwaukee and will have their first chance to do so next Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks have a Valentine’s Day matchup with the Boston Celtics, a team that represents one of, if not the sole, reasons the Bucks acquired Jae Crowder. The Celtics have Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Jaylen Brown is out with an injury likely until after the All-Star break, but we could get part one of what becomes an ongoing saga of Jae Crowder presenting his brand of dogged defense on Jayson Tatum.
With the Brooklyn Nets sending away not only Kyrie Irving but also Kevin Durant, they don’t represent the threat they did even 24 hours before the trade deadline. With the Philadelphia 76ers falling behind the Bucks in the standings during the Bucks’ game win streak and the Cleveland Cavaliers opting to stand pat at the trade deadline, the Eastern Conference, now more than ever, seems like a two-team race between the Bucks and Celtics.
Hopefully the excitement leads to the third time being the charm for Jae Crowder, who was on back-to-back teams that lost in the NBA Finals. The most recent was the Bucks’ championship season in 2021 when Crowder was on the Suns. Crowder was also a member of the Miami Heat the year prior.
Stay tuned for an analysis of Jae Crowder’s debut with the Milwaukee Bucks.