It's no secret that Washington Wizards guard Jordan Crawford has been in head coach Randy Wittman's doghouse the past couple of weeks.
His isolation style of play on offense and more importantly his lack of defensive intensity has rubbed the defensive-minded Wittman the wrong way, and with the NBA trade deadline approaching Thursday you have to wonder if he still has a place on this team.
Crawford hasn't played more than six minutes in a game since a Wizards loss to the San Antonio Spurs on February 6.
In that game, Crawford played 15 minutes and scored six points on three-for-seven shooting.
Tuesday nights DNP against the Toronto Raptors however, was the fourth consecutive game Crawford did not play in due to a coach's decision.
In a game where the Wizards offense struggled to score points, it was surprising not to see the scoring guard known by many fans now as "steez" not given a chance.
It's games like these why Crawford should be kept around, this is where his value should be measured.
Although he may never be a starter again for the Wizards with the emergence of Bradley Beal and the return of John Wall, he definitely has a role on this team.
The Wizards are built around defense and outside of Wall and Beal, Crawford is the only player who can create his own shots.
When the starting lineup is resting and the second unit enters the game, the Wizards are prone to go through eye-bleeding offensive droughts.
It's during these times that Crawford needs to be let off the chain, even if it's just for 15 minutes a game.
He may be a defensive liability but he's still young and improving and as long as the rest of the team is buying in to the defensive mindset, he'll eventually fall into place by default.
If you trade Crawford now, you'll want to get another scorer in return and his value has probably been diminished so much by riding the bench that you won't get a comparable player in return.
If you aren't going to get equal trade value or sweeten a bigger deal by packaging Crawford with another player, the best move the Wizards can make is to not make a move at all.
Use the rest of the season to see how much Crawford improves and if you find that you absolutely have to, cut ties with him in the offseason.
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