Torrey Craig has been with the Boston Celtics for a little over a month. Brad Stevens signed the veteran forward as a free agent. The Chicago Bulls had recently waived Craig.
Craig recently discussed his experience acclimating to the Celtics organization and how they do things on the court. His comments came via a recent discussion with Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog,
“The guys are great, the coaches are great, and it’s a winning culture,” Craig said. “I’m glad to be a part of it…Coming here, there’s more attention to details of switching defenses every so often, and the way they guard guys and the way they game plan for teams. So that’s been the most difficult part — trying to learn everything on the fly. But, I’ve been here long enough now, I pretty much got to understanding of how they do things, and I’m pretty much caught up.”
Craig has played in 12 games for the Celtics so far, starting one of them. He’s averaging 3.3 points and 1.8 rebounds per outing. Craig’s size and versatility have been huge additions to Joe Mazzulla’s rotation. Furthermore, his athleticism appears to have been an unexpected aspect of his game.
Celtics to Keep Star Duo
Craig’s contract with Boston runs until the end of the season. At that point, he will become an unrestricted free agent and be free to discuss contractual terms with any team in the NBA.
However, according to Jake Fischer, neither Jayson Tatum nor Jaylen Brown will be going anywhere this summer, despite the franchise’s spiralling payroll.
“Several league figures with knowledge of Boston’s thinking have remained adamant about Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown continuing to be the unquestioned on-court pillars of this franchise,” Fischer reported. “… despite the wishful thinking from some teams out there that Brown would somehow be made available this summer. And if the Celtics are able to go back-to-back during the forthcoming playoff tournament, it figures to be even more of a moot point.”
Brown and Tatum are significant reasons why the Celtics are viewed as contenders. It’s highly unlikely Brad Stevens trades either of them unless mandated by the ownership group.
Celtics Facing Serious Basketball Penalities
During a recent appearance on WEEI, Boston’s Wyc Grousbeck detailed the seriousness of being a second apron luxury tax team.
“It’s not the luxury tax bill, it’s the basketball penalties,” Grousbeck said. “The new CBA was designed by the league to stop teams from going crazy. They decided that it’s not good enough to go after the wallets because the fans can be like, ‘Hey find someone who can afford to spend $500 million dollars a year or whatever it is, like the English Premier League.”
Grousbeck continued.
“The basketball penalties mean that it’s even more of a premium now to have your basketball general manager be brilliant and lucky. Because you have to navigate because you can’t stay in the second apron, nobody will, I predict, for the next 40 years of the CBA, no one is going to stay in the second apron more than two years.”
As long as both Tatum and Brown are on the roster, Stevens has two All-Star pillars to build around. Veterans such as Craig can help plug gaps where necessary. Nevertheless, it’s fair to expect at least one rotation player to leave during the summer.
Depending on who that rotation player is, Craig could find himself signing on for another year in Boston. Of course, a lot relies on how things play out during the postseason. After all, a second championship would change everything.
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