Although he had a limited role after signing with the Celtics, Torrey Craig is interested in staying with the team next season, according to Souichi Terada of MassLive. The veteran forward started the season in Chicago, but was sidelined for weeks by an ankle injury and only got into nine games. The Bulls waived him on February 3, and Boston signed him five days later to fill an opening on its 15-man roster.
“I guess we’ll cross that path when we get there,” Craig said after the team was eliminated last week in New York. “I have to sit down with my representatives, my agents and talk things through and see the options. But I wouldn’t mind re-signing here.”
Craig, 34, appeared in 17 games with the Celtics, making three starts and averaging 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per night. He may have a larger role if he re-signs with the team because Jayson Tatum will miss most or all of the season with a torn Achilles and several rotation players might be traded to save money.
Craig said he enjoyed being in Boston despite the limited playing time.
“Just the togetherness,” he said. “Everybody in the locker room is for one another, all the way down to the front office, the coaching staff. Family-oriented. Yeah, it’s just a wholesome place to be around.”
There’s more from Boston:
- Brian Robb of MassLive suggests the Celtics should set a goal of getting under the luxury tax instead of just ducking below the second apron. The team is facing the repeater tax in 2025/26 with its current roster, and Robb points out that there are long-term benefits that go with resetting the repeater clock. Unloading both Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday wouldn’t be enough to push the Celtics below the projected $187MM tax line, but Robb notes that they don’t have to get there until the end of the season. That provides time to monitor Tatum’s recovery before making a final decision on the strategy.
- Watching Jaylen Brown in the unquestioned alpha role is one of the reasons for optimism next season, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Forsberg states that Brown has steadily improved as a play-maker and tends to have his best performances when Tatum isn’t active, such as Game 2 against Orlando and Game 5 against New York in this year’s playoffs. Forsberg is also looking forward to seeing Payton Pritchard as a possible starter and finding out which of the team’s younger players can excel in an expanded role.
- There were warning signs of a potential Celtics collapse long before it happened, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy. Bulpett looks back at a 7-7 stretch in December and January when the team developed bad habits and began letting big leads slip away.
Some of the Celtics have been playing non-stop for 2 + years. All those misses on 3s can be directly related to tired legs.
They were not healthy, not really motivated and ran into a very motivated and healthy Knicks team. Done in 6. Playoffs are rough if you are 100% physically and mentally. The Celtics just did not have it v. the Knicks and the Knicks did have it going.
Its Tatum’s injury that hurts the most, its ends this version of the Celtics, but the future it still very bright.
I am very curious and excited what Brad has planned. Chances are he was still moving people even if we went to the ECFs, Finals or won the whole thing.
Celtics won a title cant take that away. Teams are different every season. Thats how it goes…
They should trade white too for a haul
They’re gonna need to duck the tax and add extra capital to build around those 2 monster contracts
> Tatum’s injury … ends this version of the Celtics,
> but the future it still very bright.
We’ll need to see the schedule and degree of cost-cutting required to get under the first apron, which Stevens signaled was the Celtics’ plan.
IMO, this upcoming, 2025-2026, will be “destructive”, as the Celtics aim to lower payroll under the first apron by the 2026-27 season. That gets them.out of the repeater tax as they start making another run.
That will mean exchanging some or all of the multi-year deals of Porzingis, Holiday, and Hauser in favor of expiring contracts (players that won’t be around by the 2026-27 season).
IMO, Celtics will strip down to a 4 player core (Tatum, Brown, White and Pritchard) . Those 4 will have multiple years remaining on their contracts at the beginning of the 2026-27 season.
Because the Celtics will be under the 1st apron in 2026-27, they’re unlikely to contend that year. In 2027-28 they should be back in the race because they can go into the luxury tax. That’s only 2. years from now, but the next 9 months will feel like hell to Celtics fans
“the next 9 months will feel like hell to Celtics fans”
Not at all man. I’ve been hardcore since the 80’s. My dads been hardcore since the 6os. I’m super happy with the championship last year and am cool with a rebuild. Whatever happens next year happens.
It’s the same with the Warriors. You guys are lucky to have seen all of that success.
Fans that expect championships every year aren’t fans at all. Winning is fun, but I don’t watch hoops to jump up and down and yell at the TV.
Ghost, spoken like a loyal fan, which I applaud.
But I disagree that fands who suffer as a dynasty is dissassembed “aren’t real fans”.
It’s not about being spoled, it’s about loss.
There is a big difference between the process of getting below the 2nd apron and that of getting below the luxury tax line. The latter would almost have to involve a level of asset depletion that would negatively impact seasons beyond 2025-26. It would also have to start in a fairly big way this summer while there is still cap space around. I’d be very surprised if the BOS FO goes in that direction.