After trading away Jaden Springer to the Houston Rockets, the Boston Celtics had to fill their 14th roster spot. Brad Stevens moved quickly to secure Torrey Craig off the buyout market. Craig, 34, is the type of veteran two-way forward Joe Mazzulla has been missing throughout the first half of the season.
On Saturday, Feb. 8, Craig spoke to Celtics media members following a team practice. The veteran detailed the reasoning behind his decision to sign with the reigning champions.
“As a competitor in the league, you always want to play for something and compete for something,” Craig said. “I’m a super competitor and I want to play basketball the right way at the highest level. Just to get an opportunity to come play with these guys was like a no-brainer…They’re a deep team, super talented. Well-coached, well-disciplined. They play the right way. They know what it takes to win playing defense. Playing together and having each other’s backs. You can just see it. The team chemistry and they allow each other to feed off each other and play together and I think that’s why they’ve been so dominant these past couple years.”
Craig will likely sit behind Sam Hauser in the Celtics depth chart. However, his defensive versatility, coupled with his athleticism and three-level scoring, could see him earn consistent minutes off the Celtics bench.
For now, though, Craig will likely be tasked with learning Boston’s offensive and defensive system. Once he’s up to speed with Mazzulla’s brand of basketball, we will likely see him begin to fight for rotation minutes heading into the playoffs.
Celtics’ Brad Stevens Explains Springer Trade
Heading into the trade deadline, Springer was widely viewed as Boston’s biggest trade chip. However, when the Celtics attached a second-round draft pick to get him off their books, with nothing coming back in return, some eyebrows were raised.
Shortly after the trade deadline closed at 3 p.m. on Feb. 6, Stevens addressed the media. The Celtics President of Basketball Operations quickly detailed his reasoning for moving on from the defensive-minded guard.
“He’s a really capable player, and he can probably play really well in a rotation in the NBA,” Stevens said. “But also he’s not going to play in this particular circumstance and we have very limited opportunity to sign him after that. And so those are all factors that you have to consider. And it stinks that we have to do that with regard to him. But he’ll be okay because he’s a bulldog, he’s a good player.”
Springer had recently broken into Mazzulla’s rotation. He produced valuable minutes off Boston’s bench, often providing a spark of energy and defensive toughness.
Springer Waived After Celtics Trade
Unfortunately for Springer, his tenure with the Rockets was short-lived. The Western Conference franchise waived the young guard. As such, Springer is now a free agent, and will need to find another team willing to take a chance on him.
Springer has endured a tough start to life in the NBA. He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers and then traded to Boston. Both of those teams are currently in championship windows, meaning they have little time to develop raw talent.
With most rosters now set, Springer may have to wait until the summer to find a new home. If he’s smart, he’ll target a young, rebuilding team that can afford to provide him legitimate playing time while letting him work through his mistakes. As we saw in both Philadelphia and Boston, Springer is an NBA-level defender. Now, he will be hoping that’s enough to get him another shot at making it in the toughest league in the world.
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