[Source](https://sports.yahoo.com/the-suns-curious-handling-of-jae-crowder-creates-more-questions-than-answers-135459778.html)
>All this has left rival executives questioning why Phoenix barred Crowder from the team in the first place? Was he really that much of a malcontent? It’s considered a cardinal rule that when teams declare their design to trade a player, it intrinsically lowers his value.
>“I thought the way Phoenix played the situation was strange,” one Western Conference executive told Yahoo Sports. “You’re not a super deep team. You’re a contender. Doesn’t it seem like there’s some other way to resolve this other than him sitting out and hurting your depth?”
>“For Jae to hold out is pretty rare. It’s pretty extreme,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “It’s really interesting they didn’t just play hardball with him.”
by lopea182
14 Comments
I guess they had too much other shit going on to play hardball 🤷🏽♂️
As a former player, James Jones has always made a point to treat players well. For better or for worse.
Ariza gave up on the Suns about a few weeks into the season, acting like a diva. Yet James Jones honored his trade request and traded him away to the Wizards for Oubre and Rivers.
In the same season, Tyson Chandler was bought out so he could join LeBron and people made fun of Jones for doing LeBron a favor.
Damn Fischer fell off, typing thousand word articles about Jae Crowder for Yahoo is nasty work
His situation was so minute compared to everything else going on in Phoenix. That’s probably why they don’t care enough to do anything such as resolve the situation with him
How is this not on crowder?
Gets told he won’t be a starter and asks out? What a bum. He could still contribute off the bench on a great team but he’s being a baby.
The way to resolve it was him accepting a role that matches his talent level as the 6th best player on the Suns. But he didn’t want to do that, and given his age I don’t blame him. But giving Jae a new contract when you also have to extend Cam Johnson (who needs more playing time) it wasn’t going to work.
Hope they can get anything good in return for him but it’s doubtful. Real disappointing how James Jones has failed to bolster this roster during the window the Suns had.
I also love to criticize people without offering an alternative
Agreed. it was strange we let him start for 2 years when cam Johnson was much better than him and created significantly more space for CP3 and Booker the whole time
It’s not strange though.
Anyone that’s actually paid attention knew this was coming. The drastic decline in Crowder’s production, his attitude in the playoffs last year, and Cam Johnson wildly outplayed him for the majority of last season.
Shit, his contract was constructed to be able to trade him in his last year while still having some valuable. Crowder’s defense will be missed but his shit fouling and his ability to shoot the Suns out of games won’t be.
The Suns only seem thin because the Crowder trade has yet to be completed. A bench of Payne, Shamet, Craig, Saric, Bismack, and whomever the Suns retain for Crowder is a serviceable bench. It’s not great, but it’s decent enough to allow the starters appropriate resting minutes.
I guess the Suns got caught off-guard by how badly Crowder wanted out.
This is a pretty presumptuous take. We obviously don’t know what happened behind the scenes but Jae was acting like a diva all summer on social media, throwing shade at the suns in several different twitter and instagram posts basically saying he didn’t wanna be there
Personally I think when he saw his name come up in KD talks he got annoyed and then when they told him Cam would start he went nuclear. Fischer is acting like the suns can force him to play
Pelinka really trying to make it seem like he ain’t that bad compared to the Suns.
Why don’t you pick up Jae Crowder and see how negotiations go
Crowder wants to start, Suns want to move on from that and he refused to accept a demotion to the bench. It’s Cam time and he’s not getting any younger so inserting him in the starting 5 is the best move.