According to reports, restricted free agent guard/forward Allen Crabbe has signed an offer sheet with the Brooklyn Nets. The deal is reportedly worth $75 million over four years. Since Crabbe is a restricted free agent, his incumbent team – the Portland Trail Blazers – will have three days to match the offer sheet, starting from July 7th, when he signed it. If they do not match it, then Crabbe will become a member of the Nets.
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical broke the news on Thursday night:
Sources: Portland RFA Allen Crabbe has signed a four-year, $75M offer sheet with the Brooklyn Nets. Bonuses could reach $83M.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 8, 2016
Report: Allen Crabbe Signs Offer Sheet with Brooklyn Nets
Crabbe’s new contract will take him through the 2019-20 season. Wojnarowski added in a second tweet that Crabbe’s deal includes a player option before the fourth year, which would allow Crabbe to opt out and become a free agent in 2019, if he thinks he can earn more money at that point. It also reportedly includes a trade kicker, which would make the deal cost more to any team that chooses to acquire Crabbe in a trade. These features of the contract make it less favorable for Crabbe’s team, which will discourage the Trail Blazers from matching the offer sheet. It is unlikely that they will choose to do so, having already agreed to sign wing player Evan Turner to a hefty contract.
The 24-year-old wing player out of the University of California was drafted with the first pick of the second round of the 2013 NBA Draft. He has spent all three of his seasons in the league with Portland.
Crabbe has made several trips to the NBA Development League during his first two seasons in the league. The 2015-16 season was his best statistical season to date. His averages of 10.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 26 minutes per game were all career highs up to this point in his career.
The term “three and D” is thrown around a lot in today’s NBA. Crabbe is the definition of the term term, though. He is a career 38.5 percent three-point shooter, including 39.3 percent from beyond the arc last season. His 6’6″, 210 pound frame gives him the ability to defend either wing position. Crabbe is a player who, as long as Portland does not match this current offer, can become a solid contributor to Brooklyn’s potential push for a playoff spot next season. The Nets don’t own their 2017 draft pick, so they have no incentive to tank, and will instead try to win with newly-signed point guard Jeremy Lin, along with Crabbe and Tyler Johnson, if the incumbent teams of the latter two opt not to match the offer sheets they signed with the Nets. Brooklyn agreed to sign Johnson, another restricted free agent, to a four-year, $50 million offer sheet that can be matched by the Miami Heat.
Check out the LWOS 2016 NBA Free Agency Tracker for all of your NBA free agency coverage, and be sure to follow @LastWordHoops on Twitter to stay up-to-date with the latest NBA news.
