The NBA's preseason is almost and it appears that the Chicago Bulls are taking steps to reinforce its training camp roster. On Thursday, veteran guard Jordan Crawford reportedly signed a non-guaranteed training camp contract with the team.
This latest addition to the Bulls' bench was reported by Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, citing unnamed league sources.
The 26-year-old point guard was taken with the No. 27 pick during the NBA Draft back in 2010. He has been in the court donning jerseys from four teams, most recently the Golden State Warriors in the 2013-14 season. He also played in 39 games for the Boston Celtics prior to being traded to the Warriors in January last year. He averaged 11 points on 47.1% shooting (31.6 percent from 3-point range) in 23 minutes per game.
Crawford spent the last season playing in China where he played five games before sustaining an eye injury. He landed in the NBA D-League where he played eight games and later joined the Dallas Mavericks' summer league team this year and managed to deliver an average of 10 points on 36 percent shooting.
This new deal allows the 6-foot-4-inch tall guard to join a second unit that comprises of guards Aaron Brooks, E'twaun Moore, and Kirk Hinrich along with forwards Doug McDermott, Tony Snell, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson and Nikola Mirotic.
Meanwhile, a fellow Bulls player is making headlines across the Atlantic. Pau Gasol has helped Spain cement its rematch against France for the Eurobasket's semifinals. The power forward's impressive performance helped the Spanish team defeat the Greeks in a 73-71 win.
Five-time NBA All-Star Gasol is one of the only two NBA players who are currently participating in biennial Eurobasket competition. The other player is Nikola Mirotic, another Chicago Bulls power forward. Gasol delivered 27 points while Mirotic poured in 18 points to help the cause. Spain lost the title to France two years ago in Slovenia when it was defeated by the French in the semis.
Gasol apparently took a considerable risk and played for Spain against medical advice. He was reportedly in pain during a previous match against Poland and has to run to the locker room to get medical treatment. Spanish coach Sergio Scariolo revealed details about Gasol's health during a press conference and mentioned, "The doctors told me that Pau couldn't play more than five minutes straight. But after the first five minutes, when I asked him to come to bench he told me now. 'I will take the risk,' he answered me and he had an amazing game."
