Torrey Craig had a career-year for the Phoenix Suns last season, averaging 7.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game on 45.6/39.5/71.1 shooting splits in 79 games played, including 60 starts. Craig’s emergence as a knockdown shooter in the regular season was particularly noteworthy, as he always carried a reputation as a strong defender but a shaky shooter.
He continued his strong shooting year in the postseason, knocking down 44 percent of his threes as teams often opted to dare anyone other than Devin Booker and Kevin Durant to beat them, with him the recipient of some open looks. As such, coming into this offseason it was expected that the Suns, with few options to upgrade their roster with outside additions, would push strongly to re-sign Craig in free agency given their thin roster coming into the start of the league year.
However, Phoenix moved quickly in other directions, making seven signings in the first few days of free agency, many of which came on the wing at the position Craig had filled for the Suns last year. As such, Craig had to go in search of a new team and ended up landing with the Chicago Bulls.
Free agent F Torrey Craig has agreed on a two-year contract with the Chicago Bulls, sources tell ESPN. Deal includes a player option. Craig averaged 7.4 points and 5.4 rebounds in 24 minutes for Suns last season.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2023
The Bulls have now added Craig and Jevon Carter at two points of need, bolstering their point guard and wing depth with a pair of players coming off of career-best shooting seasons. For a team that needs floor-spacing, taking a swing on those two, who also carry solid defensive reputations, makes sense, but they’ll be hoping to avoid regression from either or both from beyond the arc.
Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/torrey-craig-signs-chicago-bulls-free-agency-contract-details/
