Hey, Javaris Crittenton is still here!
It sure looked this summer like Crittenton was going to be the odd-man out among the team’s crowded mix of young ballhandlers. The Grizzlies had a draft night deal in place that would have sent Crittenton to the Washington Wizards for the draft rights to Courtney Lee, only to see the Wizards back out. Then there were discussions this summer that would have sent Crittenton to Orlando (to reunite with former high-school teammate Dwight Howard), in which names like Keith Bogans and J. J. Reddick may have been discussed, but where the hang-up seemed to be the Grizzlies’ asking for a first-round pick.
Well, here we are less than a week from the start of camp, and Crittenton is still around, and, frankly, it’s hard to know what to expect even after seeing Crittenton get 18 minutes of playing time per game in 28 appearances for the Grizzlies last season, after coming over in the Pau Gasol trade.
A point guard coming out of Georgia Tech, Crittenton didn’t really get to play the position for the Grizzlies last season, but, frankly, didn’t show much in the way of play-making skills even by the standards of a scoring guard — he had more turnovers than assists on the season.
But, Crittenton was one of the youngest players in the NBA last season, coming into the league at age 19, and holding his own. An athletic 6’5” guard who can survive at the NBA level as a teenager and at least theoretically has a chance to play point guard is, by definition, a serious prospect, and there was plenty to like: Crittenton proved adept getting into the paint, even if he seemed to force tough shots when he got there. Crittenton was the rare guard who took more shots in the paint than from the perimeter, though this might say as much about his reluctance to launch his shaky jumper as it does about his effective slashing. Also, while Crittenton averaged an impressive 7.2 free-throw attempts per 48 minutes, like Lowry, he didn’t shoot well enough from the line (70%) to properly take advantage. Further testifying to his strength and athleticism, Crittenton rebounded like a small forward last year.
It was hard to get much of a feel from Crittenton’s progress from what little I saw at summer camp or in summer league, especially with Crittenton playing small forward at times, but team insiders I talked to who were privy to more summer-camp action than I was came away impressed with his defensive intensity.
What role will Crittenton play this season? Barring injuries, I still don’t see him getting much run at point guard with Mike Conley and Kyle Lowry around. With O.J. Mayo almost certain to start at two-guard, Crittenton is likely to compete with Marko Jaric for back-up minutes behind Mayo. With the Grizzlies still very much in asset-development mode, you’d have to think Crittenton would get the nod in that battle, especially early on, when the team could be looking to showcase all its young guards for a potential trade.
I believe you are correct, CW. I was not at that game.