NBA Rumors: Jae Crowder Hinting At Imminent Trade?

There are large rumblings around the NBA that Jae Crowder is on the trade block. ESPN's NBA Insider Brian Windhorst said as much earlier this week. The Phoenix Suns are also in the midst of working out a long-term commitment to power forward Cam Johnson. So is Crowder on the way out? He himself certainly seems to think so...

Crowder tweeted (then deleted) that he doesn't expect to be at training camp, when he wrote "99 WON'T BE THERE!" in response to a media member's post about the biggest questions for the Suns season. 

This isn't the first time this offseason that Crowder has insinuated that he won't be with the Suns this coming season. As noted by Duane Rankin of AZ Central, Crowder sent out another curious tweet out of the blue this summer. 

"CHANGE IS INEVITABLE..," shouted Crowder in all-caps. "GROWTH IS OPTIONAL.!! I BELIEVE ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE… I WANNA CONTINUE GROWING.!"  

Crowder is entering the final season of a 3-year deal with the Suns, and with the emergence of Cam Johnson, and the fact that "99's" performance dropped off last season, particularly from long-range (34.8%, down from 39%), there could be some changes afoot for Crowder and the Suns. 

Photo: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports