Report: Clippers to Ink Jamal Crawford and Chauncey Billups to Deals

Both guards are expected to be running mates with Chris Paul in the backcourt next season

According to NBA executives close to the situation, guards Jamal Crawford and Chauncey Billups will sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Times  reported Thursday afternoon.

The news comes a day before Ray Allen was supposed to visit the team. Those plans have since been canceled.

Crawford, who opted out of his $5.2 million deal with the Portland Trailblazers, is expected to sign a four-year deal worth $21.7 million, according to The Times.

Billups will reportedly receive a one-year contract worth up to $4.3 million, according to the newspaper. He played in 20 games last season, averaging 15 points per game before injuring his left Achilles tendon, which resulted in season-ending surgery. He is expected back in December.

Crawford, who won the Sixth Man of the Year Award with Atlanta in 2010, averaged 13.7 points per game last year. He has spent most of his 12-year career coming off the bench, but is expected to start in the backcourt alongside Chris Paul until Billups returns to action.

Neither Crawford nor Billups can officially sign with the team until the NBA’s moratorium is lifted for free agents to sign deals July 11.

The Clippers have been busy in the offseason, trying to build off a season that saw them reach the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. Last week, the Clippers acquired Lamar Odom, and the team is expected to sign forward Blake Griffin to an extension soon. 

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