Sources: Jamal Crawford to seek trade

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Frustrated the Atlanta Hawks have not offered him a contract extension, Jamal Crawford will ask the club to trade him, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

Crawford, who is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $10 million this season, approached the Hawks the first week of July about an extension. Hawks general manager Rick Sund has not made Crawford an offer, a source with the organization told ESPN.

Crawford

The sides are scheduled to meet next week and if the Hawks do not make Crawford an offer he considers reasonable, he will ask to be traded, according to sources. Crawford is looking for a three- or four-year extension worth about the same annual amount he will make this season, sources said.

Crawford, the NBA's reigning Sixth Man of the Year, told the Hawks that if they don't want to extend his contract, they should trade him, sources said.

The Hawks offered Joe Johnson an extension last year, but Sund does not typically give extensions, preferring instead to let players complete their contracts. Crawford is expecting Sund to take that approach in their meeting, sources said.

But with a potential lockout looming and the next Collective Bargaining Agreement expected to be less favorable to the players, the 30-year-old Crawford, who averaged 18 points last season, wants security.

Crawford is the latest in a growing chorus of top players this summer to express a desire to be traded. In July, Chris Paul was looking to leave New Orleans, and more recently, Carmelo Anthony has reportedly told the Denver Nuggets that he wants out.

Some of Crawford's frustration, according to sources, is that the Hawks gave All-Star Johnson a six-year, $119 million contract, but have yet to offer Crawford anything.

Though Johnson led the team in scoring during the regular season, he struggled during the Hawks' second-round sweep at the hands of the Orlando Magic. Johnson averaged 12 points a game against the Magic; Crawford led the team with a 17-point average.

Chris Broussard is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine.

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Chris Broussard | email

NBA analyst

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• Senior Writer for ESPN The Magazine
• Formerly at the New York Times, 1998-2004
• Covering the NBA since 1995