Less than a year after leaving the Boston Celtics, Jordan Crawford is heading overseas.
Crawford, who was dealt to the Golden State Warriors in January, has signed with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association, according to Hupu.com. The 25-year-old guard reportedly has arrived in China and already begun training.
Crawford was a surprising contributor for the Celtics last season, averaging 13.7 points and 5.7 assists through 39 games. He was not an efficient scorer by any means, shooting just 41.3 percent from the floor and 31.8 percent from 3-point range, but he was arguably the team’s most productive backcourt player in Rajon Rondo’s absence, at least from an offensive standpoint.
Danny Ainge parlayed that early-season success into a three-team trade that sent Crawford and MarShon Brooks to Golden State in exchange for Joel Anthony and what likely will end up being three second-round picks — a deal that has looked better and better by the day.
Crawford failed to become the off-the-bench presence the Warriors envisioned, and the team declined to re-sign him after he averaged just 8.4 points and 1.4 assists per night over the season’s final 42 games.
A number of teams reportedly expressed interest in Crawford on the free-agent market this offseason, including the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls.
