Hoops Rumors (Twitter link) has confirmed that Jordan Crawford has agreed to sign with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association. The deal was first reported by Chinese language site Hupu (translation courtesy of Sportando’s Enea Trapani). The Hupu report says that Crawford’s one-year deal could be worth as much as $2MM.
It’s a somewhat surprising outcome for the CAA client who started the season strong with the Celtics, averaging 13.7 PPG and 5.7 APG in 30.7 minutes per contest. The C’s later sent Crawford to the Warriors in a three-team deal that will likely net them a trio of second round selections. Things didn’t work out as planned in Golden State and the Warriors wound up acquiring Steve Blake to fill the role Crawford was ticketed for. They tried to dangle Crawford at the deadline but there were no takers as he was putting up just 6.6 PPG and 2.2 APG in 16.5 minutes per contest for his new team.
The 25-year-old Xavier product reportedly had interest from the Heat, Bulls, Mavericks, Lakers, Knicks, and Nets. Ultimately, most of those teams wound up finding backcourt help elsewhere and it’s possible that Crawford was holding out for more than the minimum salary.
Meanwhile, the Flying Tigers have found another ex-NBA guard to replace the production of Lester Hudson. Hudson is a free agent and has been connected to the rival Liaoning Hunters.