Suns May Be Closing In on Jae Crowder Trade

It seems that the Suns may be able to trade forward Jae Crowder, after all.

They have been trying since the start of the season, but to no avail, after Crowding requested a deal. He has been away from the team since.

Now, per Marc Stein of The Stein Line, there are some “credible rumbles” that Crowder will be traded soon. That followed an Instagram post in which Crowder displayed a ticking clock.

Along with all that, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported that the Suns were getting close to finalizing a three-team trade centered on Crowder.

The Heat and Bucks are among those who have been linked to Crowder — with Ian Begley of SNY.tv last week reporting the Suns and Heat have spoken recently. The Knicks are also among the teams with an interest in Crowder, sources told Hoops Wire.

Phoenix recently lost Cam Johnson to a torn meniscus and are apparently on the lookout for help. Johnson beat out Crowder for a starting forward spot, supposedly prompting Crowder’s trade request.

“In the last few days, from what I understand, the Suns have picked up their Jae Crowder conversations,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said recently, via RealGM. “And tried to reengage on some old talks, so I am told. Now, does that mean they will find a deal? Obviously they’ve had some impetus to do that.”

Crowder, 32, is 6-foot-6 and appeared in appeared in 67 games last season (all starts), averaging 9.4 points on 40 percent shooting, to go with 5.3 rebounds and some strong perimeter defense.