Much of the attention in Friday’s Boston Celtics-Utah Jazz matchup was centered around Gordon Hayward, but the veteran forward wasn’t the only player going up against his former team at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Jae Crowder, who’s become a key piece of Utah’s rotation since joining the Jazz midway through the 2017-18 campaign, played parts of three seasons with the Celtics, including the 2016-17 club that reached the Eastern Conference finals.
Crowder ended up getting the last laugh Friday night, scoring 20 points in Utah’s 123-115 win over Boston. While Crowder’s play spoke for itself, he also added a quick verbal jab after the game.
Jae Crowder was asked if he was trying to prove that Celtics made a mistake trading him. “They know,” he said. “I’ll leave it at that.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) November 10, 2018
Crowder is a fine NBA player, but it’s foolish to think the Celtics made a mistake trading him away in the summer of 2017. The ninth-year forward was part of a package sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Kyrie Irving. Irving, of course, is one of the most dynamic scorers in the league, and Boston’s investment looks like it will pay off with Irving already having verbally committed to re-signing with the franchise next offseason.
It makes sense that Crowder played with some added motivation Friday night, but he’s been around the league long enough to understand the nature of the beast. Irving is a can’t-miss type of player, and the C’s had to do what they had to do in order to obtain him.
And given how things have panned out, we have a feeling they don’t have any regrets.
