Suitors for Crawford’s services include Minnesota, Washington and Cleveland

After the Atlanta Hawks bought out Jamal Crawford’s contract, teams lined up for his services. Minnesota, Washington and Cleveland lead the pack.

Let’s be honest: who wouldn’t want one of the best sixth men in the NBA? For his career, Jamal Crawford owns a 41 percent field goal average, playing 26-plus minutes and averaging 15.3 points per game. However, last year saw his lowest averages since his second year in the league, which was all the way back in the 2001-2002 season.

The Atlanta Hawks, who acquired Crawford in a three-team deal earlier this week, bought out the remainder of his contract, making him a free agent.

Now that he is available, teams want him. Three teams are standing out from the pack.

Of course, the Cleveland Cavaliers would want Crawford. And he wants to play for them. The only problems is that the Cavaliers are millions of dollars over the salary cap. The most they could offer him is the mid-level exception, worth about $5.2 million. But since the Hawks paid him at least a portion of his remaining $17.2 million, and he would have a good chance to play in the NBA Finals next year, you can understand why he’d want to be in Cleveland.

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He has already been a bit cavalier in his desires to play for them, as it was reported on Cleveland.com after the veteran spoke with LeBron James.

The other two teams are very intriguing. Minnesota is building a strong young core of players with Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine. And with the addition of Jimmy Bulter, the team is growing. Crawford would bring a veteran presence that the team needs.

As for the Washington Wizards, they are a piece or two away from making the Eastern Conference Finals. With team that has grown together and features John Wall and Bradley Beal, the addition of Crawford brings depth on the bench.

Who will win his services? It may not be the highest bidder.