The thinking a few weeks ago held that Hawks guard Jamal Crawford, who wants either a contract extension or a trade from Atlanta, could prove to be a distraction during training camp and the preseason. But all indications are that Crawford is handling the situation as a professional. He tells the Associated Press he enjoys playing for the Hawks and wants to remain with them:
“What do I want? I want to be here,” Crawford said at the start of the Hawks’ training camp.
“I love being here. I LOVE being here. I had a ball every time. I felt like I was at a concert performing every time I played here. It was just a lot of fun.”
While Atlanta’s moves this summer—namely re-signing Joe Johnson to a maximum contract and drafting Jordan Crawford—have clouded Jamal Crawford’s future with the team, it’s clear that he wants to stay with the Hawks. And GM Rick Sund told the AP he would like to keep his core group together:
“The organization the last few years has done an outstanding job to retain players who have become free agents, and a lot of that is because the players have wanted to remain here and we’ve been financially competitive with the other teams,” Sund said.
Jamal Crawford is in the last year of a seven-year, $55 million contract he initially signed with the New York Knicks.