Jae Crowder of the Phoenix Suns this week reached an agreement with the team that he will skip their training camp and the Suns will trade him to another team.

Jae Crowder's discontent with the Suns was growing more and more obvious after the 2021-22 season until he posted on Twitter on Monday that he won't attend the team's training camp.

"ONE MUST SEEK WORK WHERE HE IS WANTED.. WHERE HE IS NEEDED.! I AM THANKFUL FOR WHAT THESE PAST 2 YRS HAVE TAUGHT ME.! NOW I MUST TAKE ON ANOTHER CHALLENGE WITH CONTINUED HARDWORK & DEDICATION.! FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO CLOSED THE DOOR ON ME…. THANK YOU! 99 BACK SOON.!" He tweeted.

Crowder, 32, is in the last year of his three-year, $29.2 million contract with the Suns. He wanted a long-term extension, but, according to Arizona Sports' John Gambadoro, the team didn't want to give him that. Moreover, Crowder's starting position may be given to Cameron Johnson in the 2022-23 season.

Crowder started 67 games for the Suns last season and averaged 9.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals. He made 1.9 triples at 34.8 percent per game in the regular season, which further dropped to 1.5 3-pointers made at 30.2 percent in the playoffs. He was often left open by the opponents' defenders who focused efforts on double-teaming Devin Booker.

If Crowder is seen only as an offensive deadweight, he won't be as popular as he is today on the market. Multiple powerhouses including the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat were listed as his destination. Crowder had played for both teams before and he can be of great help to them in one clear way: to contain Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks.

As a 1.98-meter-tall power forward, Crowder is undersized in his position. Neither is he very athletic nor able to do more than defending and shooting 3-pointers. However, Crowder's 106-kilogram weight, strong lower body and underrated power made him the perfect stumbling block to slow Antetokounmpo down before he gets his way in the paint.

Crowder's biggest career highlights happened in the Eastern Conference semifinals on behalf of the Heat against the Bucks in 2020. Antetokounmpo, who was back-to-back NBA's Most Valuable Player (MVP) that and the previous year and averaged 29.5 points at 61.3 of true shooting percentage in the regular season, could only get 21.8 points at 55 of true shooting percentage per game against the Heat. The Bucks, were knocked out by the Heat in a gentleman's sweep (4-1).

Crowder guarded Antetokounmpo in more possessions than any of his teammates during that series. He was solid enough not to be rolled over by Antetokounmpo when the "Greek Freak" charged the rim. Moreover, Crowder was able to stop Antetokounmpo in areas where it was too far from him to shoot and keep him there long enough for other Heat defenders to trap the Bucks' ace.

Crowder didn't contain Antetokounmpo by himself, of course, just like no MVP-level player at their prime could be contained by one single defender. Nonetheless, there are only very few players in today's NBA who are both strong and agile enough to slow Antetokounmpo down alone. Crowder is one of them. If any team wants to make it out of the East, they will need someone like him on their roster.