Nets: Latest Jamal Crawford News is Not Encouraging

The Nets provided a concerning update on Jamal Crawford’s status.

Remember when NBA fans rejoiced in unison after the Brooklyn Nets signed Jamal Crawford as a substitute player for the rest of the season? As nice as it was to see a team finally take a chance on the three-time Sixth Man of the Year, we couldn’t deny the risk that came with doing so.

Unfortunately for the Nets, it hasn’t taken very long for them to realize the headache that comes with signing a 40-year-old veteran that hasn’t played in over a year.

Over the weekend, interim head coach Jacque Vaughn revealed that Crawford won’t play in Monday night’s scrimmage against the Utah Jazz. The reason? He’s apparently still getting up to speed with the rest of the team.

What’s so concerning about the uncertainty behind Crawford’s status is that he’s yet to appear in a scrimmage game for Brooklyn, and this will be the team’s final tune-up before their season officially resumes versus the Orlando Magic on Friday.

“It’s different being in shape and being in basketball shape,” Crawford told reporters. “I think I’d be up to speed if it wasn’t for the pandemic, because I was on an NBA schedule still playing four times a week, 5-on-5 going against high-level guys. So that part kind of set the 5-on-5 part of it back, then it came back rather quickly being here with practice and practicing against the guys.”

That doesn’t sound great, and we officially have zero idea as to what the Nets’ plan is for Crawford. Throwing him in a playoff seed clash for his first action in over 15 months — he last played on April 9 of 2019 as a member of the Phoenix Suns — couldn’t have been what Brooklyn planned for when they signed him earlier in the month.

We understand that J-Crossover could roll out of bed and drop 20, but, like he said, there’s a massive difference in doing so in the middle of a season as opposed to after a four-month layoff.

There’s still time for the NBA journeyman to get himself in basketball shape, but this update further confirms that he won’t do much of anything to help the Nets win games in Orlando.