Jamal Crawford could be walking away from Los Angeles. (USATSI)
Jamal Crawford could be walking away from Los Angeles. (USATSI)

The Los Angeles Clippers are reportedly making Jamal Crawford available approaching Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline. From ESPN:

Crawford's reaction:

The Clippers reportedly want a first-round pick in return, and they'd then try to trade that pick for another wing player. If this actually works, and Los Angeles winds up with someone like Arron Afflalo or Wilson Chandler, then that makes sense. The Clippers could improve defensively and become more versatile this way. If they're stuck with a first-round pick and nothing else, though, then all this would do is weaken their dismal bench.

Crawford is LA's best reserve, even if he's essentially been slumping since December (he's shooting 39.1 percent from the field and 32.8 percent from 3-point range this season). He can create offense out of nothing and score in bunches. With Blake Griffin out of the lineup for at least a little while longer, that offensive punch is even more needed. 

The question is what, exactly, the Clippers can reasonably expect to get for Crawford. Only contending teams should want the veteran, and a late-first-round pick might not do much for Los Angeles if it is trying to swing it for one of the more prized guys on the market. It feels like this team needs to make some sort of move and it's possible a good trade partner will emerge, but the safe bet is that Crawford will remain where he is and the Clippers will have to resign themselves to chasing players who are bought out.