Jae Crowder is about to return to the league.
The veteran forward is close to a deal to join the Sacramento Kings this season. . The details of that agreement are still unknown. However, he is expected to be available as soon as Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis.
Crowder, 34, spent the last two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks. The 13-year veteran, who was first selected in the second round of the 2012 draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, will join his ninth team in the league once his deal with the Kings is official. He averaged 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game last season in Milwaukee.
Crowder helped lead both the Miami Heat and the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals in consecutive years, although he has yet to win a championship. Crowder became a free agent last offseason and worked with the Kings over the summer, although he was unable to reach a deal to land with any team.
The Kings are dealing with major injuries and have lost seven of their last 10 games entering Wednesday’s game at Minnesota. Forward Trey Lyles will be out for at least three weeks with a right calf strain, which he suffered in Monday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. DeMar DeRozan will also miss Wednesday’s game with lower back muscle inflammation, although it is unknown how long he will be sidelined. third-year coach on Tuesday after he also chased a referee in a loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.
While it’s unclear what his role with the franchise will be at the moment, Crowder should be able to provide much-needed depth in the frontcourt behind Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis, at least for the near future. We’ll see if he is the missing piece to get the Kings out of their crisis.