The Jamal Crawford half week-part III: the beginnings

by hawksdawgs on Aug 29, 2009 5:08 PM EDT Comment 2 comments

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With time comes the ability to truly evaluate, so with our third and final interview, Matt at Blogabull gives a free write retrospective of Jamal Crawford's time with the Chicago Bulls. Thanks again to Golden State of Mind, Posting and Toasting, and now Blogabull. And without further ado, the final installment of the Jamal Crawford trilogy.

Crawford was as much a part of the Curry-Chandler years (i.e., last days of Jerry Krause) as, well, Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler. Unlike those two he did play a year of college, but it was shortened due to suspension so he was as raw as a prep prospect.

A year later as a restricted free agent, Paxson used Crawford in a sign-and-trade deal with the Knicks, attaching Crawford to the long-term deal of Jerome Williams to acquire expiring contracts and get the Bulls out from the salary cap mess Paxson inherited. It wouldn't be the last time Pax used a player's potential to sucker Isiah Thomas, and Crawford wound up never fully realizing it.

So it was not a surprise when Paxson became GM that he used his first lottery pick on Kirk Hinrich, signaling that Crawford was no longer the future point guard of the Bulls. He never fit in that season either playing with Hinrich or for new coach Scott Skiles. http://bulls.blogspot.com/2004/02/2-cs-thats-right-its-only-2.html

He was similarly gifted to be a good defender but never showed the commitment to it. It kept him from improving and he stayed a slightly below average player in his entire tenure, despite a scoring outburst here-or-there, including having the Bulls first 50 point night since Michael Jordan retired (http://bulls.blogspot.com/2004/04/so-while-not-historic-jamal-certainly.html). During his Bulls career he came to help symbolize what was wrong with the 'Baby Bulls' of that time, and then-announcer John Paxson often singled Crawford out for selfish or lazy play.

Crawford back then (and I suppose still today) was frustrating to watch as his talent never meshed with his game. He has a really good handle and was big for a point guard, yet he rarely ventured into the paint or got to the line. He'd flash an amazing crossover dribble, shaking his man to only step backwards and launch a 20-footer. He rarely takes shots in rhythm or off of passes, he was out there to create for himself, though still not in an efficient way.

Thanks again to Matt.

And so there it is. The Hawks have Jamal Crawford. In every sense of the phrase, for better or for worse.

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Here is something I came across trying to find out about Crawfords Bulls years

http://nbafinals.com/bulls/news/crawford_review_040520.html

Head Coach Scott Skiles on Crawford:
"Jamal had a very good year. He had some explosive scoring games. He improved his defense but he still has a ways to go in that area. I thought his shot selection also was improved. For the first time, he ran a pro-type offense and he got better and better at it as time went on. He’s easy to coach and now he just needs to keep gaining experience. He missed so much time with his knee injury before. He does seem to realize how tough it really is to win in this league and I think he’ll be fine."

Jamal is another young player who does not have a ton of pre-NBA basketball experience. Do you feel like he still has a long ways to go before he reaches his potential?
"I don’t know that he has a long ways to go. I think he’s already a quality NBA player. For him to be in the upper echelon of NBA guards, there are certainly areas he needs to improve in. He doesn’t have a complete basketball background to draw from when it comes to a lot of different situations that can occur on the court. We think Jamal is improving all the time, though, and have no reason to think that he won’t continue to."

Lets see if I get this right

Tim Floyd and Bill Cartwright were his first nba coaches

he then had one year with Skiles

one year with Lenny wilkens

one year with Larry Brown

2 years with isiah and ( Marbury)

one month with D’antoni

the rest of a season with Don Nelson

and now hes with Mike Woodson

so Crawford has never been apart of a stable winning basketball team . Wow so in reality I dont think anyone knows what we are getting because hes never been in this situation before.

If you take Skiles comments for what they are worth and then look at his improvement under Larry Brown I would say what the Hawks get out of Crawford will be dependent upon what Woodson asks of Crawford

by Hoopforia on Sep 1, 2009 10:44 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs