Nets hope Crawford brings scoring, veteran leadership

The Nets have officially signed swingman Jamal Crawford to a rest-of-the-season contract.

Crawford, 40, has not played in an NBA game this season. He last appeared as a member of the Phoenix Suns, capping off his season by scoring 51 points on April 9, 2019.

Crawford is one of the deadliest scorers the NBA has seen, even if he is well past his prime. He is a three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year, winning in 2010 with the Hawks and both 2014 and 2016 with the Clippers.

The only player to win the award as many times is Clippers’ scorer Lou Williams, who has taken home the award each of the last two seasons.

“What Jamal brings to the team is the ability to make shots. You also get veteran leadership,” Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said in a Zoom conference call with reporters after the team’s first practice in the Orlando bubble. “You get a guy, who, as hopefully we continue to advance while we’re here, has played in high-level games and is really comfortable being on the floor and can talk to multiple guys on our bench on how to be calm and how to preserve the opportunity that’s presented in front of them.”

The Nets are a team that will be desperate for scoring. Forget Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, who are both out rehabbing season-ending surgeries. Brooklyn won’t have Spencer Dinwiddie, Taurean Prince or DeAndre Jordan, each of whom tested positive for the coronavirus and did not travel with the team to Orlando. They are also short starting power forward Wilson Chandler, who opted out of the bubble citing fear of contracting COVID-19 and spreading it to his loved ones, as well as rookie Nic Claxton, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder during the coronavirus hiatus.

That’s about 47 points per game the Nets are leaving in Brooklyn — and that doesn’t include the two superstars who signed last summer, capable of combining for 50 points at a moment’s notice.

Brooklyn is hopeful Crawford can help offset its Net losses. In his final three games with Phoenix last season, the volume scorer averaged better than 35 points, nailing at least four triples in each of those outings.

“If anything, he provides a great voice for us,” said Joe Harris. “He’ somebody who has had a lot of success and is going to be able to just help out from an intangible leadership aspect.”