NBA Rumors: New Suitor Emerges For Ex-Celtic Jae Crowder

When it became clear that Jae Crowder doesn’t have a future in Phoenix, The Athletic’s Shams Charania pointed to a few of the veteran forward’s former teams as potential landing spots.

On Monday, the trusted NBA insider expanded the list.

“Sources tell me the Hawks have emerged as a suitor among interested teams in Suns forward Jae Crowder,” Charania said in a video he tweeted. “The Hawks and Suns have had conversations in recent weeks and months, I’m told, as Atlanta has seen if there’s a pathway to bring Crowder into a big three of Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and John Collins. Several teams have been engaged on a potential deal for Crowder, who remains away from the Suns as both sides work on a resolution for his future.”

The addition of Crowder probably wouldn’t do much to improve the Hawks’ 2023 NBA championship odds, which sit at 45-1 at DraftKings Sportsbook as of Monday afternoon. That said, the 32-year-old is a respected veteran who played on basketball’s biggest stage in two of the last three seasons. He could help establish a winning culture for a franchise that hasn’t appeared in the Finals since it relocated to Atlanta in the late 1960s.

The upcoming season is the last on Crowder’s current contract. He’s set to make a base salary of roughly $10.1 million.