When free agency opened, the Chicago Bulls made sure to stay active. They re-signed Coby White and brought in Jevon Carter to be their starting point guard.
Before the market even opened, they inked Nikola Vucevic to a three-year extension that will see him stay in Chicago for the immediate future.
However, a couple of days into free agency, they made another smart move. Chicago signed Torrey Craig, a veteran forward. The 32-year-old forward is a solid defender and an above-average 3-point shooter. When the news broke, many assumed he would earn a decent chunk of change from the Bulls, but according to Keith Smith of Spotrac, Craig’s deal is for the veteran minimum. It’s a two-year deal with a player option in the second year.
Elias Schuster of Bleacher Nation sees this as an absolute steal.
“Am I wrong for thinking that feels like a freakin’ steal?” Schuster wrote “Craig is fresh off hitting career-highs in games played (79), 3-point percentage (39.5), and rebounds per game (5.4). The veteran wing is a plus defender and has 75 games of playoff experience under his belt since the 2018-19 season. Sure, Craig may be nothing more than a role player, but he’s proven to be an extremely useful one who can help take some of the toughest assignments on defense and fill in where he’s needed on offense.”
This past season, Craig averaged 7.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 45.6% from the floor and 39.5% from behind the 3-point line.
Landing him for the minimum is phenomenal value.
