Free Agency – Top unrestricted free agents in NBA this off-season (Part-3)
Jamal Crawford
The potent scorer Jamal Crawford, who last played for Atlanta Hawks, is going to be one of the top highlights of the free agency who became an unrestricted free agent after the franchise didn’t extended his contract.
The 31-year-old guard Crawford shifted his talent to Atlanta before the beginning of the 2009-2010 season and had a breakout first year in the Hawks uniform. Jamal averaged 18.0 points and 3.0 assists per game from the bench which
earned him the honour of the Sixth Man of the Year in 2010.
In the second season with Atlanta Hawks, Crawford’s scoring average dropped down to 14.2 points per game and as a result Atlanta didn’t renew his contract with the end of the last season.
There is no doubt that Jamal is a dynamic scorer who also free ups a number of opportunities for his teammates on the court to keep the score board ticking. However, in the recent years, his playing minutes has started to decrease
which has hampered the superstar from posting another 20-point season.
Apart from being a prolific player, Jamal Crawford now also carries a meaningful basketball experience under his belt. He can be equally effective playing in the starting five or from the bench. Any team that sign a contract with
Crawford can expect a dominating change in their offensive system in the next season.
J.R. Smith
The 25 year old guard J.R. Smith, who became a free agent after playing five seasons with the Denver Nuggets, will be another man to watch out in the free agency.
Smith is not a good defender and he is also not a good passer of the ball however when it comes to bringing some energy on the front court, former Nuggets superstar J.R. is one of the best men out there to do the job.
New Orleans Hornets first round pick during the 2004 NBA Draft, Smith had a slow start to his career. Before the beginning of the 2006-2007 season, Smith marked his way into the Denver Nuggets where he proved himself as an influential
scorer in no time and scored with an average of 13 points per game during the first year with Nuggets.
J.R Smith continued to show substantial improvement with every passing year as his scoring abilities received a major boost-up. However in the last season, Smith’s numbers dipped slightly from the last three seasons.
Nevertheless, Smith is a proven scorer and his leaping abilities have no match in the league. Although the Denver Nuggets indicated their interest in re-signing Smith after NBA officially locked out its players upon the expiration
of the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement however the franchise didn’t come up with a clear cut statement in this regards.
"We've been having dialogue with J.R. He's been doing a good job working out, I think he's been working out with John Lucas in Houston and he's been back here (in Denver). We'll see how it goes. Obviously, J.R. is a big part of
our program here. He's been a big part of Denver the last few years. So I think all of those evaluations, we're still on. But I think it's very positive." Nuggets’ Executives Masai Ujiri said.
J.R. Smith is on the threshold of his career and the extent of his strength and abilities will only improve with the passage of time which will become a big asset for any team who makes a deal with him.
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