Crowder to dying mother: 'I want to win a ring' with Cavs
"She knew exactly what I wanted to do."@CJC9BOSS opened up w/ @FSOAllieOop about playing toward his ultimate goal: https://t.co/epzinRE0Rz pic.twitter.com/PYAXKg0LG1
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) September 7, 2017
Jae Crowder has added motivation to achieve his ultimate goal.
The two-way small forward was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on the same day his mother succumbed to cancer. He revealed at his introductory presser that he informed his mother of the swap from the Boston Celtics just five minutes before she passed away.
Crowder later elaborated he told his mother about his intentions with the Cavs.
"I hope she heard me when I said I'm going to Cleveland, and I told her I'm want to win a ring," he told FOX Sports Ohio's Allie Clifton, adding she supported his endeavor to capture a title.
Vegas has Cleveland with the second-best odds of winning it all in 2017-18, just behind the defending champion Golden State Warriors, whom the Cavs have faced in the NBA Finals the last three years and ousted in 2016. The team swapped a key member in Kyrie Irving for Crowder, Isaiah Thomas, Ante Zizic, and draft picks.