An hour before Thursday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, Brad Stevens said the first thing the Celtics wanted to do with one of their two vacant roster spots was bring in a wing. He also noted the Celtics would fill the 14th roster spot “relatively soon.”
He wasn’t kidding.
Less than two hours later—before the game had even reached halftime—the Celtics found their guy, signing ninth-year pro-Torrey Craig to a deal.
Craig was waived by the Bulls earlier this week to free up roster spots following a three-team deal that sent two-time All-Star Zach LaVine to Sacramento and De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs. The 34-year-old hasn’t played since December 30th due to an ankle injury but was close to returning before his release.
The 34-year-old has only played nine games this year, averaging 6.9 points per game on 48.9% shooting from the field and 42.9% from three and 2.8 rebounds in 12.6 minutes.
Drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 2017, Craig has since played for Milwaukee, Phoenix, Indiana, and most recently, Chicago. He spent three seasons in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NBL) before making it to the NBA.
At 6-foot-7, 221 pounds, the South Carolina native brings good size, along with the ability to knock down threes—shooting 35.5% from downtown in his career (441 games), including over 39% in each of the last three seasons—and he’s a capable defender.
He also brings valuable postseason experience, having appeared in 75 playoff games with the Nuggets and Suns. He was the Suns’ eighth man, playing in all 22 games (12.1 minutes per game) during their Finals run in 2021.
His career averages are 6.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.
“If we bring somebody in, it’s because we believe that they will add to the group,” Stevens said. “And that doesn’t mean they’ll play every day, but that they, when called upon, can be ready to go in big moments.”
While Craig may not play significant minutes when Boston is fully healthy, Sam Hauser has been dealing with a nagging back injury, and Craig has more NBA experience compared to Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, and Drew Peterson, making him a solid depth piece. Craig can fill that necessary three-and-D role as the wing the Celtics were searching for.
Craig is expected to undergo a physical ahead of Saturday night’s road game against the Knicks.
The Celtics still have one vacant roster spot remaining but won’t rush to fill it.
“We’ll take our time with the 15th [spot] and really assess our health and needs and those types of things as we go on,” Stevens said. “I won’t get into any particular players. I think all of our guys have done a great job. It will be more based on the needs of the Celtics.”