From the outside looking in i think its fair to say guys like Rillie, Rose, Williams have contributed more to the Crocs than a Crawford and Holmes, definatly on the court and possibly off the court in terms of marketing/generating hype/drawing crowds as they were far more well known and marketable figures. Guys like JR put alot of time and effort into promoting the league, etc, i dont really see Crawford or Holmes doing any more than they have to.
But also think that none of them deserve any real special treatment, if anyone did Rillie, Rose, Williams did not Holmes, Crawford, but dont think anyone really does.
Pro sports in all areas is all about performance, if your performance starts slipping so does your salary, role in the team, job security and in some cases your job, may or may not be fair but thats how it is, and how it needs to be, if you have over paid 'past' stars you will never do well on the court, if the 'past' stars are going to hang on a bit longer they need to provide other things, ie leadership, marketability, do anything they can to help the club, they also need to reduce salary demands and role on team demands, if they are not willing to compromise with the club on these things and are then let go, thats largely the players fault imo, cant always have it both ways. If the club just simply wants to go in a new direction, thats also part of pro sports, especially for a free agent player of any age/skill level.
From the outside looking in JR seemed to be that type of guy, so may have been worth keeping in some capacity to provide some 'extras' such as leadership, marketability, (but they couldnt have afforded to keep him as there main star and on star money, he had slipped in form a bit, if he wasnt willing to compromise with the club on these things, then thats life) but i dont see any real 'extras' that are being provided by Holmes or Crawford that makes them worth keeping for more than what there performance on the court deserves, which to me is a 6th, 7th man role and the money that goes with it. Thats part of the industry, if you are going to take/demand big bucks when playing well, you have to be real when you are no longer at the top of your form. Any club paying Holmes or Crawford more than around 80k isnt spending responsibly imo, as imo there form doesnt warrant it, Crawford certainly doesnt warrant 120k+ going on his performance last year and what you would realistically project he will produce in the coming season.