Nuggets exit trade deadline with unfinished business

DENVER — The Denver Nuggets might have to make a push for the playoffs without Torrey Craig. The NBA trade deadline came and went Thursday, and while the Nuggets acquired a veteran point guard and sent Emmanuel Mudiay on his way, they did not open up a roster spot to sign Craig to a guaranteed deal.

Craig, a two-way player who’s become a valuable member of Denver’s rotation over the last two months, can only spend 45 days of service time with the Nuggets this season. His 45 days are coming to an end. When they do, Denver will either have to send him back down to the G League or clear space for him by waiving or buying out a player already on its 15-man roster. The Nuggets will still hold Craig’s rights if he’s sent back to the G League when his 45 days are up.

Players signed to two-way contracts are also not eligible for the playoffs. If the Nuggets want Craig on their playoff roster, they will need to create space for him and sign him to a guaranteed deal.

In the days leading up to the deadline, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he wanted to see Denver open up a roster spot for Craig.

“I’m just taking it one game at a time. I can’t worry about saving his days for the end of March. I want to get through today. It’s a fine line. It presents a pretty interesting problem to have because he’s a valuable player,” Malone said before a Feb. 1 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. “Who knows? You have a trade deadline coming up and you create a roster spot, can you sign Torrey Craig for the rest of the year? For me as a coach, that would be ideal.”

Craig earned his first NBA start on Dec. 15 against the New Orleans Pelicans. In that game, he blocked Jrue Holliday’s shot in the final seconds of regulation. Denver wound up beating New Orleans in overtime.

The 27-year-old has since appeared in 24 games with the Nuggets. He’s averaging 4.1 points in 15.6 minutes. He’s perhaps Denver’s best on-ball defender and has developed a reputation for playing the game with reckless abandon.

Craig played his college ball at South Carolina-Upstate. After school, he headed to the other side of the world to play professionally in New Zealand and Australia.

Last year, Craig played for the Brisbane Bullets of the Australian NBL. He was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year as well as Most Improved Player. The Nuggets invited him to play on their Summer League team in July, and he impressed to the point where they offered him a two-way contract.

“I was gone over there for three years. To get back over here, it’s kind of an amazing feeling because it don’t happen every day,” Craig told BSN Denver in November. “I know I can play in this league. It’s just a matter of time before I get the right opportunity.”

Over the last two months, Craig proved he belongs on an NBA roster.

Denver will have to recalibrate soon. Craig’s absence could mean more minutes for second-year players Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez, or Malone could lean more on 37-year-old Richard Jefferson.

“If we use his 45 days, well, guess what? We have Juancho, we have RJ, we have Malik,” Malone said Feb. 1. “We have some other guys who can step up and take those minutes if we have to use them once his days are up.”