Ex-Heat forward Jae Crowder back in NBA Finals: ‘Hopefully it’s a different result’
When Jae Crowder left the Miami Heat to sign with the Phoenix Suns in free agency last offseason, long-term security and money seemed to be the main factors behind his decision.
After all, Crowder had just helped lead the Heat to the NBA Finals in the Walt Disney World bubble, and the Suns had not made the playoffs in 10 consecutive seasons.
But Crowder is the one who again finds himself in the Finals, with the Suns advancing to the championship series this season for the first time since 1992-93. The Heat was eliminated from the playoffs more than a month ago by the Milwaukee Bucks in a first-round sweep.
“I look like a genius, huh?” Crowder said this postseason of the Suns’ unexpected success. “I know I look like a genius a little bit with my decision. ... And when I made the decision, you should have seen how many text messages I got like, ‘What are you doing?’ and ‘Why you going to Phoenix, they haven’t made the playoffs in 10 years?’”
With All-Star guards Devin Booker and Chris Paul leading the way, Crowder and the Suns open the NBA Finals on Tuesday night against the Bucks in Phoenix. Crowder also turned 31 on Tuesday.
“At the end of the day, there’s one dude that I’m happy for, and that’s Jae Crowder,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said of his former teammate. “So I’m just happy he’s back in the Finals, and hopefully he can win it this year.”
But money was definitely a factor in Crowder’s decision to leave Miami, as he opted to sign a three-year contract worth $29 million with Phoenix. Miami’s offer to Crowder included a salary for this season in the $14 million range, according to a league source, and the Heat was unwilling to offer more than one guaranteed season because of its desire to preserve 2021 cap space.
There was mutual interest between the Heat and Crowder entering free agency last year, but they had different plans. Miami did not want to offer more than one season of guaranteed money and Crowder was looking for long-term security.
“No long-term contracts, and that’s what it came down to,” Crowder said in March when discussing his decision to pass on the Heat’s offer to sign with the Suns. “Obviously, Miami had a plan and they stuck to it. That’s all I can say about that. It was a business decision by both parties, and I had to make a decision. Didn’t think it was going to play out the way it played out, to be honest with you. But I’m ready to just close the chapter to that. It was a great one in my journey. I had a lot of fun.”
The Heat strayed a bit from its plan to protect 2021 cap space when it signed Adebayo, a franchise cornerstone, to a five-year, $163 million contract extension just a few weeks after Crowder signed elsewhere.
With Adebayo’s extension increasing his cap hit for the 2021-22 season by $13 million, the Heat is expected to have between $21 million and $27 million in cap space this summer, including cap holds. That’s not nearly enough to sign a max-level free agent.
“It was total business and I respect Pat [Riley], I respect their whole management for it,” Crowder said in March. “They stood on it and I even gave them a whole night to think about it, but they stood on it. So I respect that and I respect that wholeheartedly. I’m just moving on. I’m happy where I’m at now. I think I made the best decision for myself and my career.”
Crowder, a 6-6 and 235-pound forward, has been an important part of the Suns’ resurgence. Spending most of his postseason minutes as a small-ball power forward, he entered Game 1 of the Finals averaging 10.4 points while shooting 36.9 percent on threes, 5.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and has started in each of Phoenix’ first 16 playoff games.
Crowder, who made Miami his offseason home four years ago, owns a team-best plus/minus of plus-105 this postseason.
The Suns have also used Crowder as the primary defender on some of their opponents’ top offensive weapons, as he spent a large chunk of time on Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James in the opening round of the playoffs, Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon in the second round, and Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George in the Western Conference finals.
Against the Bucks in the NBA Finals, Crowder is expected to get an assignment he became familiar with during the Heat’s postseason run last year. He will likely spend a good amount of the championship series defending Bucks two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo shot 9 of 22 (40.9 percent) from the field during the 73 possessions that Crowder was used as his primary defender in last year’s playoff series between the Heat and Bucks.
“Most of our toughness is because of Jae,” Suns center Deandre Ayton said. “The dude is a dude who is all about sacrificing. He’s the main part of just sharing the ball, and just whatever contributes to wins, you do it. He’s the main guy of that. Just having the type of experience he has, dealing with guys like Giannis and [Anthony Davis], he helped me a lot. Telling me what they like to do and what they don’t like and things they like to do when it comes to drawing fouls. Him stepping up to the plate as well. Getting on our butts a little bit and making us step up. You need a guy like that.”
With Crowder in Phoenix, he left a void behind as a reliable small-ball four option that the Heat struggled to replace this past season.
After Crowder committed to the Suns, the Heat responded by signing guard Avery Bradley and forward Moe Harkless in free agency. But Bradley and Harkless never found consistent roles with the Heat and were dealt away in March.
Miami eventually acquired veteran forward Trevor Ariza from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a trade with less than two months remaining in the regular season. Ariza started the final 27 regular-season games as the Heat’s small-ball power forward alongside Adebayo.
As for Crowder, he’s the only player on either team in this season’s championship series with NBA Finals experience after falling two wins short of a title last year with the Heat. He hopes to finish this season with a championship-clinching victory.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity, but I’m looking for a different outcome than I had last time honestly,” Crowder said. “That’s all fine that I’ve been here before, but I haven’t won anything. So, it really doesn’t mean anything to me personally. But I use my last stint as motivation to get back here to have a chance to play for it all again, to work my way to be in this position. Hopefully it’s a different result, and that’s my motivation in it all.”
