Back in January 2017, as Celtics fans cheered on the then-Jazz forward who would become a free agent that summer, Crowder fumed. He told media after the Jan. 3 game that he felt “disrespected.” Only a few months later, Hayward had indeed signed with Boston, and Crowder had been traded to the Cavaliers in what would end up an ill-fitting situation.
That might be a starting place for Jazz fans and Crowder, 27, who was traded to Utah on Thursday morning, to find a bond. But the Jazz front office hopes that the strong-bodied, dreadlocks-laden 6-foot-6 forward can resume the defensive stopper role that once gave his career life in Boston — and that would really score points with the fan base.