Report: Suns making Jae Crowder available on trade market

One starter from Phoenix’s 64-win team last season could soon be cleaning out his locker.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported Monday on “NBA Today” that the Suns are having some active trade talks, primarily centered around forward Jae Crowder. Windhorst adds that Crowder is available on the trade market right now.

The ten-year veteran Crowder has been a crucial cog in Phoenix in the last two seasons. As the team’s starting 4, Crowder has been a trend-setter on defense who is not afraid to challenge the NBA’s biggest stars. He has also hit 36.9% of his 3s as a Sun, which keeps their offense humming.

But Crowder is now 32 and is entering the final year of his contract (owed $10.2M next season). Sixth man Cameron Johnson, a taller forward who shot better than Crowder from deep last season and is also six years younger, lurks as a player who may be ready to start for the Suns as well. With Crowder starting to hint at interest in other teams on top of that, a divorce might be inevitable here.