According to Adrian Wojnarowksi of ESPN, the Denver Nuggets have pulled their qualifying offer from Torrey Craig, which makes him an unrestricted free agent.
Wojnarowski points out the Nuggets “ran out of roster spots for him” but they still have one remaining spot on their roster after signing Paul Millsap to a one-year deal earlier today. The Nuggets will now have to find someone to occupy that final roster spot and it doesn't look like Craig is going to be that guy.
Denver signed Craig to a two-way contract back in 2017 after he impressed with the Nuggets during Las Vegas Summer League. Craig then signed a two-year, $4 million deal with Denver the following offseason and has played a massive role in the Nuggets success over the past three seasons.
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Not only did Craig provide the Nuggets with offense from time to time, but he has easily been the Nuggets best defender besides Gary Harris since he arrived in Denver. Craig often filled into the starting lineup when the Nuggets had someone out and would often defend the opposing teams best player.
The Nuggets are sorely going to miss Craig’s hustle plays, which are the plays that don't show up on the stat sheet. It’s an even more puzzling move when you take into account what happened last night when Jerami Grant singed with the Detroit Pistons. By losing Grant and Craig, the Nuggets perimeter defense takes and massive hit and it’s tough to envision how they are going to replace that.
Craig was a great teammate and solid contributor during his time in Denver, here’s to hoping he lands on his feet with another team soon!
