Things were looking promising for NBA longshot Steven Crowl. He was getting more and more playing time until he wasn't. It literally evaporated before his very eyes. In the final NBA Summer League game for the Detroit Pistons, Crowl was benched. He wasn't even allowed to see the floor, and the designation for why he didn't play was "coach's decision." That's a tough pill to swallow for the former Badger looking for an NBA opportunity.
He spent all last season as a rotational G-League player for the Salt Lake City Stars, a G-League affiliate of the Utah Jazz. There was nothing last season that indicated he was going to make a big jump this year and get an NBA contract. Crowl's hope was that he could show some promise in the NBA Summer League. However, his time in Vegas was hit or miss at best, and he had to absolutely WOW the Pistons to get anything more than a summer league invite.
It doesn't appear that it happened, as he didn't even get a chance to play in the final game. He was the only Pistons' summer league player not to see the floor. Crowl will now face a difficult choice that felt like the right choice the entire time: pivot to an international league.
Steven Crowl's best professional opportunity may no longer be in the NBA
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A fringe NBA player and even a rotational G-League player is not a complete bust. His professional career isn't dead in the water, and he doesn't need to pivot to selling insurance. Crowl will have a ton of opportunities to take his career overseas. He could follow any number of former Badgers to different international leagues.
Where? That's a big question. The next two highest-level leagues are the NBL in Australia and the EuroLeague. Those would probably be options 1A and 1B for Crowl. Both would be options as a fringe NBA player. The NBL has a tendency to take in a lot of former Big Ten players. There's even already some speculation about the EuroLeague from a Greek basketball account on X.
Those two leagues would be the highest level for him and potentially the place to make the most money. There are also lower-level leagues all over Europe. Crowl could even follow Max Klesmit to Belgium. Klesmit played with Crowl last season on the Salt Lake City Stars and signed a professional contract last month with the Kangoeroes from the BNXT League.
There are leagues in Asia, too, and China has been known to take in big men that can stretch the floor for the CBA. All that to say, there are clearly options, and Crowl will get them; the big question will be where and when? Does Crowl continue to try to knock on the NBA door, or does he wait to see if there's a training camp invite from a team? It seems like the Pistons have slammed the door on him, and he really should start to make his career pivot now.
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