There is no denying that Torrey Craig has helped the Denver Nuggets quite a bit throughout their battle to make the playoffs, but even if the Nuggets are able to secure their first playoff berth since the 2012-13 season, Craig will not be a part of the playoff roster.
Sources have confirmed to Mile High Sports that Craig’s two-way contract that he signed back in July of 2017 will not be converted to a full NBA contract by the end of the season which deems Craig ineligible for the Nuggets’ potential playoff berth.
Craig is currently signed to a two-way contract with the Nuggets which gives Craig a maximum of 45 days with the Nuggets as he splits time between Denver and the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the G-League. Once the G-League season ended back in March, Craig was allowed to stick with the Nuggets until the end of the regular season without it counting towards his 45-day limit, but is not allowed to join the playoff roster unless his two-way contract is converted to a full-time NBA contract.
The Nuggets have a full 17 players on their roster but could have waived a player to make room for Craig. It seems Denver was not willing to move on from a player like Richard Jefferson or Devin Harris to make room for the 27-year-old rookie. Harris was acquired in a three-team deal that sent Emmanuel Mudiay to the New York Knicks so the odds of him being waived to make room for Craig was never on the table. Plus, Harris has played well as of late and has done a good job of solidifying a bench unit that has given Denver fits for the majority of the 2017-18 season. Jefferson’s veteran leadership is something that the Nuggets’ front office values highly so letting Jefferson go also ended up as an unfeasible option. With those being the only two realistic options, there just was not enough room for Craig.
Denver likes Craig so much that there was a concerted effort to create a roster spot for him at the trade deadline which made Nuggets’ head coach Michael Malone very happy. It was clear that Malone wanted the Nuggets to open a roster spot at the trade deadline for Craig. He flat-out told the media that he hopes that Craig’s contract can become a full-time NBA deal just days prior to the trade deadline.
“Can you create a roster spot somehow? Can we sign Torrey Craig for the rest of the year? For me — as a coach — that would be ideal,” Malone told reporters just days before the trade deadline came and went.
Craig not being eligible for the playoffs is not indicative of the Nuggets perception of the hyper-versatile wing. Both the Nuggets’ coaching staff and the front office have high hopes for Craig and see him as much more than just a two-way player trying to audition for an NBA roster spot. While Craig is averaging a modest 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds on 45.3 percent shooting and 29.3 percent from three, his impact has been much larger than those numbers illustrate.
Craig will be missed by the Nuggets if they happen to make the playoffs, but it seems nearly certain that Craig has found a home in Denver with the Nuggets even without being on the Nuggets playoff roster. The Nuggets’ don’t see Craig just as a two-way player. They see him as a valuable member of the Nuggets right now and for the future.
“He isn’t a two-way (contract) player — that’s what he is right now — but make no mistake, he is an NBA player,” Malone said of Torrey Craig all the way back in December.
