There comes a point when every old-timer who's able to temporarily (it's always temporarily) play at his sports' highest level has to step aside. However, as many tear filled retirement press conferences have taught us, despite the inevitability of it all, it's still super hard to accept. Enter 37-year-old Jamal Crawford, the three-time winner of the NBA's Sixth Man Award, who may be feeling some slight remorse about signing a two-year deal with the Timberwolves this past July (emphasis on may).
We say that because the 18-year-veteran recently talked about the struggle of playing just 17.7 minutes per night, which is his lowest average in that category since his rookie year. "It’s a difficult challenge," he said to the Star Tribune. "Because this is the lowest minutes I’ve played, pretty much the same minutes I played as a rookie. So you want to actually do it the right way, and play within the framework of the game. But then, if you’re not out there that much, you kind of have to make something happen. So it’s a balance I’m trying to figure out."
Asked if he saw any advantage to spending less time on the floor he said "To be honest with you, I don’t." Finally Crawford stated that his minutes did come up when he was discussing signing with the Wolves as a free agent, but that "17 minutes wasn’t discussed."
Still, if you're the type of person who says he should've signed with a crappy team instead of a contender if he wanted more minutes (which is actually probably a fair argument), he did address that while also clarifying that "It’s not about me, at all," and that there was no reason for a talk with coach Tom Thibodeau:
Minnesota is currently 17-12, which is good for fourth in the West.
