Jamal Crawford ended up picking the Portland Trail Blazers over the Sacramento Kings earlier today. It was to be expected. It probably came down to money. When Portland amnestied the contract of the now-retired Brandon Roy, they freed up enough space to sign Crawford to the mid-level exception, thus making the deal with Portland the most attractive of them all.
From a basketball standpoint though, Sacramento probably also made less sense than Portland. With Crawford in Sacramento, you have too many players who want the basketball in their hands who want to let shots go up. Tyreke Evans is a shoot-first guard who loves to dribble the ball a lot. Jimmer Fredette, Marcus Thornton, and John Salmons will also want all their shots. As much as the Kings would probably have liked to bring in another veteran to prove they're trying their best to turn things around, Portland would be the better place for Crawford to thrive.
Neither team is expected to be a title contender next year, but Crawford can probably provide better value to Portland over the span of his two year deal than he could in what might've been a depth chart mess in Sacramento.
To discuss Crawford as a Blazer, head on over to Sactown Royalty or Blazers Edge.