2018 Player Reviews: Torrey Craig's search for a full-time NBA contract is on

Torrey Craig got the opportunity of a lifetime when the Nuggets offered the rangy 6-foot-6 wing a spot on their Summer League team in July. Craig impressed Nuggets’ brass enough over six games in Las Vegas to earn a two-way contract with Denver this season, and on a team void of impact defenders, Craig found himself on the floor time and time again in high-leverage situations.

The 27-year-old was a part of the league’s first class of two-way contracts. Under the terms of his deal, Craig was only allowed to spend 45 days with the Nuggets this season. In an effort to conserve his days, Craig sometimes flew commercial and wasn’t allowed to practice with his teammates. When the Nuggets were going through sets and preparing for their opponent throughout the middle months of the season, Craig was downstairs from Denver’s practice court in the Nuggets’ locker room.

The 39 games Craig played in this season could set him up for the rest of his life with a full-time NBA deal likely on the way. After experiencing the pitfalls of a two-way contract first-hand, Craig said that he’s glad he went through it.

“I’m definitely gonna remember it,” Craig said about his rookie season. “From going back and forth (from the G League to Denver) to plane rides, to not being able to practice to all the stuff I went through. Throughout the season I just thought it made me stronger. It actually made me focus more, and I think it helped me be a stronger player mentally.”

Craig went undrafted in 2014 after four years at the University of South Carolina Upstate but found a home in Australia where he played for the next three years. He was discovered by Joe Connelly, brother of Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim, in Nov. 2015. Joe Connelly was in his first game coaching the Sydney Kings when Craig scored 20 points and dunked all over his 7-foot-3 center Jordan Vandenberg.

“I was talking trash to him and just remember how he didn’t seem fazed in the least,” Joe Connelly said.

Joe Connelly passed Craig’s name along to his brother. Craig found his way onto the Nuggets’ Summer League team last July.

In his first significant minutes (and start) of the season against the Pelicans, Craig blocked Jrue Holiday’s shot and forced overtime on the final possession of regulation. Denver went on to win in 117-111 in overtime. Three days later he checked Russell Westbrook in his second NBA start and scored a career-high 14 points on 5-5 shooting and hit all three of his three-point attempts.

Craig went on to fill an important role on the wing for Denver this year. His first two starts in a Nuggets’ jersey served as a microcosm of Craig’s season. The swingman is one of Denver’s better perimeter defenders and a capable scorer who can hit from three. Craig shot a hair under 30 percent from distance but only attempted 58 threes this season.

Denver would have liked to sign Craig to a regular NBA contract so that he could have appeared in more games with the team, but the lack of an open roster spot had the Nuggets’ hands tied.

Craig is a restricted free agent this summer meaning he can field contract offers from other teams around the league, but the Nuggets have the opportunity to match any offer sheet Craig signs.

“He was great. He was one of the greatest stories of the season,” Tim Connelly said. “A guy who was playing at a relatively low level. He was a very good player in Australia, he came here took a chance on himself. He had some more lucrative offers overseas after playing well last season. Summer Leauge, played well, got rewarded with a two-way contract and then was impactful. I thought his energy on both ends was extremely helpful.”

“Absolutely,” Connelly said when asked if he’d like to have Craig back next year.

Craig was forthcoming when he said after the season that he has “no clue” if he’ll be back next year. But he enjoys his teammates and Denver. He’d like to return.

With little wiggle room under the salary cap and a max contract likely on the way for Nikola Jokic, Craig is a low-budget full-time addition that Denver can lock up this summer.

FINAL LINE: 4.2 PTS, 45.3 FG%, 29.3P%, 3.3 REBS, 0.6 ASTS, 0.4 BLKS, 0.3 STLS, 0.5 TOVS