Minnesota Timberwolves: Who will sign former Wolf Jamal Crawford?

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ bench thinned out considerably when Jamal Crawford opted out of his contract. But while the Wolves haven’t filled his spot, Crawford hasn’t found a new job yet, either.

It wasn’t a surprise that veteran guard Jamal Crawford opted out of the second year of the two-year contract that he signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves last summer.

After all, he played the second-least minutes per game in his 18-year career — not what he expected when he inked the deal. He hinted at opting out after it had been rumored in the national media but prior to the deadline date, and opt-out he eventually did.

The post-opt-out reaction from yours’ truly at the above link was, of course, positive. Crawford was not good last year, and while there were certainly a couple of games that he nearly singlehandedly delivered for the Wolves (the Utah game in October comes to mind immediately), his poor defense and shoddy shot selection outweighed the positives.

Fans may recall that last summer, Crawford reportedly turned down offers from Golden State and Cleveland last year in order to receive more playing time for the Wolves, and to be part of something that was still building instead of something that was already built.

This year, it was the Warriors and 76ers who reportedly expressed early interest in the now-38-year-old. But as of late July, the man known as J-Crossover remains unsigned.

The Ringer recently ranked the top six remaining free agents, with Crawford clocking in at No. 3. From The Ringer:

"Crawford has never met a pull-up jumper he didn’t like. The question this offseason, as the 38-year-old heads into his 19th season in the league, is whether any team out there is willing to take the bad that comes with the instant offense he can provide.Crawford should still be good to average double-digit points — he hasn’t averaged fewer than 10 since his sophomore season, in 2001–02 — but he hasn’t cracked 42 percent from the field in five years. Efficiency isn’t his strength, but he can still energize any team, especially one with the infrastructure to allow for a little more volatility."

Crawford can still knock down jumpers, that’s for sure. But his 3-point percentage of 33.1 was his lowest in three years, and the second-lowest in the past six, and the degree of difficulty on many of his shots was simply too high for what was necessary.

At this point, Crawford is surely waiting to find the best situation to select, as he’s no doubt going to sign at the veteran’s minimum after walking away from about $5 million with the Wolves.

It makes sense to wait, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him end up with a contender such as the Warriors, Rockets, Sixers, or Lakers. Although after not receiving the minutes he was looking for last year in Minnesota, expect Crawford to be extremely sensitive to both the other players on the roster and the coaching style and rotation tendencies of his new boss.

Crawford won’t be out of work for much longer.