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Update: The Hawks officially announced that Crawford has been waived. Beyond that, Chris Vivlamore of the AJC brings word that Atlanta will stretch Crawford’s contract.
The Hawks will use the stretch provision to spread the cap hit for Jamal Crawford.
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) July 8, 2017
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The Atlanta Hawks executed a three-team trade this week that was focused on the future. In short, the team acquired a first-round pick in 2018 (originally from Houston) and the rights to young center Diamond Stone, while also taking on the contract of veteran shooting guard Jamal Crawford.
From the moment the rumored deal emerged, the consensus was that Crawford was seeking a buyout and, on Friday, word broke that the Hawks obliged.
Hawks guard Jamal Crawford has finalized his contract buyout, league source tells The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 7, 2017
Jamal Crawford and Atlanta Hawks have come to terms on a buyout, league sources tell ESPN.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 7, 2017
Jamal Crawford comes to buyout agreement with Atlanta, I'm told.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) July 7, 2017
Financial terms are not disclosed at this point, though a buyout could impact Atlanta’s salary cap space, as explained here.
Crawford, once the buyout is complete, becomes a free agent and many teams have been reportedly interested in his services. From the perspective of the Hawks, Crawford was owed more than $17 million in guaranteed money and it will be interesting to see just how much is given back from Crawford’s side in order to facilitate this move.
Stay tuned.