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Analyzing whether the Sacramento Kings should bring back Jae Crowder next season

ByMat Issa|
Apr 11, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Jae Crowder (99) warms up before the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Apr 11, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Jae Crowder (99) warms up before the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

With the 2024-25 NBA Season now over for the Sacramento Kings (courtesy of the Dallas Mavericks), the focus has now shifted toward the offseason.

As it stands, the Kings have a handful of players from their 2024-25 roster set to become free agents. Over the next few days, we are going to analyze the pros and cons of bringing back each of these players.

Jae Crowder didn't start the season with the Kings, but he was quickly brought on right before Thanksgiving for the remainder of the season after the team realized their need for size, defense, and shooting. But did Crowder do enough in his time with the team to warrant bringing him back?

Should the Kings try to bring back Jae Crowder?

With their core of Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk, and De'Aaron Fox (who was later swapped for Zach LaVine), the Kings almost immediately discovered some imbalances in their roster. While their fearsome foursome had a ton of on-ball creation, they lacked the other things you need to build a balanced roster.

Crowder has made a long and prosperous NBA career for himself by being exactly the kind of guy (a three-and-D player, if you will) that fits well next to high-usage players. He did it with Dirk Nowitzki on the Dallas Mavericks. Then, he did it with Isaiah Thomas on the Boston Celtics. Then again, with Donovan Mitchell on the Utah Jazz. And the list goes on and on.

All of his different spots have turned Crowder into quite the playoff veteran. In his career, Crowder has made three conference finals appearances and two NBA Finals appearances.

Crowder got off to a hot start with the Kings. In his first game with the team, Crowder played 27 minutes, scored eight points, and posted a plus-minus of +16. Unfortunately, that debut proved to be the highlight of his 2024-25 campaign.

Age has caught up with the journeymen forward (he'll be 35 this summer). Crowder quickly fell out of the rotation, appearing in just eight games after his rockstar first game with the team. In four of those games, Crowder even failed to surpass the seven-minute mark.

It is impossible to measure the value that Crowder's experience and wisdom helped the Kings' locker room this season. Maybe those intangibles are enough to warrant bringing him back on another veteran minimum deal. But from a purely on-court perspective, it makes little sense for the Kings to exhaust on-court resources to try to retain Crowder.