Denver Nuggets two-way contract player Torrey Craig, who was a staple in their rotation for much of the second half of the season, has been tendered a qualifying offer from the Nuggets, a league source has told Mile High Sports.
Sending a qualifying offer to Craig does not ensure that he will be on the roster for the 2018-19 season, but it does allow the Nuggets to match any offer that Craig receives to keep him in Denver. Essentially, the Nuggets control their own destiny when it comes to keeping Craig in Denver.
With multiple teams already interested in Craig’s services, Denver will have competition to keep him with the Nuggets. Craig’s athleticism, motor, defensive intensity, and budding offensive skill set makes him a valuable commodity being that he is 6-foot-6, can defend multiple positions, and also stretch the floor by hitting open threes.
Craig averaged 4.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in his 16.1 minutes a night stretched over 39 games including five starts, but his impact went much further than that. Even when Nuggets’ head coach Michael Malone drastically shortened his rotation at the end of the year, Craig was consistently involved in Malone’s rotation.
With Denver $9 million into the luxury tax prior to attempting to sign Will Barton — if Nikola Jokic does indeed sign for a max contract — it is likely that the Nuggets will need to clear salary before trying to sign Craig to a deal. The Nuggets value Craig and would rather keep him in Denver instead of losing him to another team.
Regardless, it seems Craig has solidified himself as more than just another two-way contract player. As Malone has said multiple times, Craig is an NBA player — not just a G-League or two-way contract player — and he proved it throughout the 2017-18 season. Now, it is time for Craig to find his first full NBA contract.
