Torrey Craig spurns bigger offers to re-up with Nuggets for 2 more years

Torrey Craig seemed content to make a living hooping overseas. The South Carolina native spent most of his 20s playing in New Zealand and Australia. His goal as a kid was always to make it in the NBA, but it never materialized — until the Nuggets took a chance on him.

Craig was discovered by Joe Connelly, the brother of Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly. Craig got a spot on the Nuggets’ Summer League team in 2017 and impressed enough to earn a two-way deal. On Monday, the Nuggets and Craig agreed to a $4 million deal that will keep him in Denver on a guaranteed deal for the next two seasons, a league source confirmed to BSN Denver.

The agreement means Craig accomplished one of his childhood goals, one that he’d almost given up on.”I wasn’t sure that I was going to come over,” Craig said this winter, explaining he was initially hesitant to attempt the difficult climb from Summer Leaguer to NBA player on a guaranteed deal with solid work already in place abroad.

Craig took a chance, and it panned out. Now he’ll become a rotation player on a team that’s on its way up. The Nuggets went 46-36 last season, missing the playoffs by one game. Craig averaged 4.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in 16.1 minutes. He appeared in 39 games and started five times during his 45 days of service time. He made himself a valuable player through his defense and willingness to hit the glass with reckless abandon.

“He’s helping us win games that matter,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after Craig scored seven points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots in an April 1 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Nuggets plucked Craig out of nowhere, and he impressed enough to earn a guaranteed deal. Craig had more lucrative opportunities elsewhere in the NBA but Craig decided he wanted to re-up with the franchise that gave him an opportunity in the first place, a source told BSN Denver.

Inking to a multi-year deal means Denver has 14 players on guaranteed deals for next season. An NBA team is allowed to have a maximum of 15 players on guaranteed contracts. If the Nuggets don’t shed any more contracts, that final guaranteed roster spot could come down to Monte Morris, who’s played well in Las Vegas and is competing for the backup point guard job, and Jarred Vanderbilt, the Kentucky big man the Nuggets just took in the second round.

Last week, the Nuggets dealt Wilson Chandler to Philadelphia. Will Barton will likely step in as the starting small forward in Chandler’s place. That means there should be plenty of reserve wing minutes up for grabs. Denver will look to Craig and Malik Beasley to fill them.

There are areas of Craig’s game he needs to work on; he shot 29.3 percent from three-point land last season. But he’s here because of his hard-nosed nature. He’s earned many fans in Denver’s organization by doing whatever’s asked of him — including one in his head coach.

“Every team could use a Torrey Craig,” Malone said.

BSN Denver’s Harrison Wind contributed to this report