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Magic Acquire Jodie Meeks, ‘Very Interested’ in Jamal Crawford

June 29, 2016

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Victor Oladipo is out. Jodie Meeks is in. Could Jamal Crawford be in, also?

After the Orlando Magic traded away Oladipo to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a transaction that got the former team Serge Ibaka, the Central Florida team has been in search of proven replacements to fill the guard spot, whether in a starting or sixth-man capacities.

Meeks was traded to the Magic by the Detroit Pistons for a second-round pick in the 2019 draft, according to WXYZ Detroit. The 28-year-old’s contract for the 2015-16 season is worth $6.54 million.

The primary concern for the Magic is Meeks’s potential for getting injured. Last season, Meeks played in only three regular-season games after he sustained foot fracture in the preseason. Though, Orlando gave up relatively nothing for Meeks, who becomes a free agent after this season.

In addition to bringing in Meeks, the Magic are “very interested” in the three-time Sixth Man of the Year Award winner, according to USA TODAY‘s Sam Amick.

The kind of free agency tidbits you can hear on the latest A to Z pod: After the Oladipo exit, Orlando is very interested in Jamal Crawford

— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) June 28, 2016

Crawford, 36, is in the latter end of his career, but, as he proved last year, he still can bring a lot of scoring value to a team—especially a team like the Magic that now only [barely] has two guards who averaged double-digit scoring last season. Crawford, who averaged 14.2 points per game last season, earned his third Sixth Man of the Year Award last year, the most by any player in NBA history.

Here are the Magic’s guards.

No.	Name	Age	Height	Weight	Games (2015-16)	PPG (2015-16)	RPG (2015-16)	APG (2015-16)
4	Elfrid Payton	22	6-4	185	73	10.7	3.6	6.4
10	Evan Fournier	23	6-7	205	79	15.4	2.8	2.7
11	Devyn Marble	23	6-6	200	28	2.1	1.4	0.4
13	Shabazz Napier	24	6-1	175	55	3.7	1.0	1.8
23	Mario Hezonja	21	6-8	218	79	6.1	2.2	1.4
32	C.J. Watson	32	6-2	175	33	4.3	2.0	2.7
55	Brandon Jennings	26	6-1	169	48	6.9	2.0	3.5

Oladipo’s departure gives the young guards an opportunity to come into their own. Crawford’s veteran presence would help the development of 21-year-old Mario Hezonja, 22-year-old Elfrid Payton and 23-year-old Evan Fournier. And if Meeks stays healthy, he has the potential for huge scoring outbursts. In the 2013-14 season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Meeks scored a game-high 42 points on the way to a 114-110 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Official free-agent talks begin on Friday, July 1.