Its a two way contract with Sioux Falls Skyforce. He will get up to 45 days with Nuggets.

Its official now, the Bullets need a new import.

Hmm... so what ex-NBL imports are floating around? Chill? I'd hate to see him play for any non-Kings team, but he'd certainly be a decent fit? Not sure of their budget though, what's the NBL got left in its coffers?

Hopefully Cairns can find Brisbane a player asap.

LOL Hespect. Maybe too soon to call it karma but sounds like the Bucks considering Trice amongst several candidates for one of their two way as well. So things could look a bit bad with Bullets import situation.

someone want to explain what a two-way deal is?

someone want to explain what a two-way deal is?

it means he is signed both to the Nuggets and their D League affiliate but can only play up to 45 games with the Nuggets unless the contract is revised.

Good thing he cleaned out his apartment then :-)

Seriously though, best of luck to him. Lovely guy, keeps his mouth shut and works hard.

I think it is fair to say this is the first guy that the NBL has legitimately prepared for the NBA. You can say what you want about Terrance Ferguson but he could have kicked rocks for the past year and still would have been drafted. Chris Anstey was an absolute project when he was drafted and was not "NBA ready". However Torrey Craig has developed his game here and the attributes that make him an NBA level player were polished up in Australia. This is a true success story for not only Torrey, but the NBL and Australian basketball. It is a bit of a shame that he probably wont be naturalizing now though!

ME, did you consider James Ennis?

Anon

ME's statement might be an over-reach, but Craig was in a different category than James Ennis.

Ennis had just been drafted and was sent overseas for a year, ala Bolden this year with Philadelphia. Craig was undrafted and has played 3 years with his highest competition being the NBL.

What are the selection criteria for ME's 'NBL has legitimately prepared for the NBA' status?

How about Doug Overton and our very own Rick Brunson?

Do they count?

What XY said.

You can't really lay claim to developing a player if he was going to the NBA either way. Ferguson was going no matter what, Ennis was likely, but Torrey Craig is there because he worked his way up from the bench of an NBL team to becoming our defensive player of the year. It is a very, very different thing.

Overton and Brunson played elsewhere as well didn't they?

I used to have a card of Nuggets legend Dikembe Mutombo but then it got destroyed in a fire.

Say what you want about Fearne and how he utilised Craig in Cairns, but I don't think Craig is on any NBA team's radar without those first couple of seasons at the Taipans. He hardly blew folks away out of the gates, but he developed into a heck of a player, and surely Fearne deserves some credit for that - not taking away from the work that Craig himself obviously puts in.

I agree Angus and you can almost think the same of Casey Prather to less of an extent but it makes you wonder how good imports can be if the NBL puts time into them.

Torrey was very much an average import when he arrived but now we as fans trust that he is going to do anything on the court to get his team the win and even then it still may not be enough but good luck to him, I've enjoyed watching him live and I hope when his NBA career ends that he considers becoming that Australian citizen that he's spoken about in the past. We need more citizens like him.

What dribble Torrey was developed, he had all the skills from day one but was too flashy for Darth Vader. Was easily 5 times better than Weigh yet had to be a bench player. This a super slap in the face for Darth!

This is such a revision of history. In half his games that first season Craig shot below 40% from the field. In the playoffs he shot 9/31 from the field.

He was very inconsistent, very much a young player learning the professional ropes, and Fearne used him accordingly - minutes generally reflecting performance - in a team that performed exceptionally well and made it to the GF.

Quick correction to above thread. The 2 way contract is 45 days in length when part of the nba team and not 45 games.
Worth a read of the full extent of this clause in the new cba. Definitely better for the teams, and it appears better for those fringe players. One example being the guys get 50k if they are signed before training camp, and it's not factored into the salary cap etc.

I think Craig can thank the 36ers for his NBA contract and basketball development.

In that first year or so in the NBL Craig likely would have been sacked except that he got to have games against the Sixers.

I think at one point he was averaging 23 points per game against Adelaide and 9 points per game against the rest of the competition?

After three full seasons, this has averaged out far more reasonably. He now only averages 17.4 points against Adelaide, and 10.9 points against all other opponents.

The Sixers should really be getting a signing bonus from him.

@XY, that is brilliant use of statistical analysis. Snaps for XY, everybody.

@paul, I don't think I could have said it better.

Aside from Craig's inconsistencies, especially in his first season, you have to take into account the way that Fearne's teams work. There are a lot of people that shit-can Fearne for his approach to coaching (myself included, at times) but you've got to realise that he works to a system, and that system means that there are times when it's not appropriate to have certain players on the court. Quite often, he uses groups of players together, and it worked out very well for the club to use Torrey off the bench in the 14/15 season. He used the same starting 5 for every game, and we were runners up.

For everyone that wants to roast Fearne for his inability to win a GF series, please remember only four coaches at two clubs have won the championship in the last eight seasons: Beveridge, Gleeson, Lemanis and Vickerman.

Back on the thread, though, good luck to Torrey, he's a great guy and has worked very hard (with some very good coaching) to improve his game. He has always had the physical tools, and an excellent defensive game. His 3pt shooting may still need some work, but he has done a fantastic job of turning himself from a very unreliable free throw shooter (45% in his first season of NBL) to a much more respectable 74.5% in his third season.

I hope he does well, and never returns to the NBL (unless he decides to come back to Cairns of course!!!)

Couldn't have put it better myself. When he left for Brisbane he seemed to be a talented but very streaky player who on some nights could torch an opposition team and put down 20+ pts from the bench, and in other games struggled get any rhythm at all. Obviously starting at Brisbane has been great for him, but two years of constantly having to work to prove himself and being held accountable for his performances would help any young player in his position.

So when's Egwu going to the Bullets then? ;-)

CT, those nights when he laid down 20+ points from the bench were the nights he played the Sixers.

I think he was probably being defended by Ebi Ere in that first season though.

I have nothing against the guy, he has developed in the time he has had in the NBL and become better. I wish him the best with his NBA aspirations. But I suspect he will spend a nice year at Sioux Falls and then continue with his career in Europe.

These two-way contracts are a gamble for players and teams at the moment. Nobody quite knows how they will work out. As I understand it Craig now cannot accept 10 day contracts with other NBA teams. At best Craig will be 16th or 17th man signed in the roster for Denver, and will only see time if multiple players in front of him in his position get injured AND there is no-one better available in the G-League for a 10 day contract to replace him at that time.

Plus,

"For everyone that wants to roast Fearne for his inability to win a GF series, please remember only four coaches at two clubs have won the championship in the last eight seasons: Beveridge, Gleeson, Lemanis and Vickerman."

Using the above as a defence for Fearne not winning a GF series suggests to me the writer believes there exists NBL regulations that dictate only those with a surname of Beveridge, Gleeson, Lemanis and Vickerman can win a title and only while you coach for the Breakers or the Wildcats.

I'm not saying Fearne is a bad coach. I'm saying that is a bad excuse.

Well typed Freethrows.

CT - Fu's contract is signed, iron clad and hopefully in a vault somewhere!

Lovebroker: i believe the point being made was RE the well used resources of those franchises.

No.....FT specifically named 4 coaches, the inference then being ONLY those 4 are to win titles which excludes Fearne because of his surname and not because of Fearne's plan / strategy / skill.

Yeah, no.

Look, I could be wrong, but I don't think he’s advocating that there is some kind of surname voodoo going on.

"If Fearne had the money to sign top line players, ie Bryce Cotton he'd have championship rings. Lot crap talking on here. :))"

If Fearn had the money to sign Bryce Cotton he'd be playing 15 minutes a game behind Cam Gliddon.

@Lovebroker, are you an idiot, or just trying to wind people up?

I'm not suggesting that there's any sort of conspiracy about coaches' names, or certain coaches in particular being the only ones allowed to win titles. What I'm saying is that if you're going to call Fearne a shit coach BECAUSE he hasn't won a championship, you have to say the same thing about EVERY other NBL coach over the last eight seasons whose name is NOT Beveridge, Gleeson, Lemanis or Vickerman, because they are the only ones that HAVE won a championship over that time.

Sheesh.

With apologies to @Mock for borrowing his OVERCAPITALISATION technique for making his point.

Hahaha #Mockology101

First of all I'm not calling Fearne a shit coach, in fact I have often given him props for what he has achieved (most recent comment being a big effort to get 2nd place).

However, the stat of x coaches from y teams have won it over z seasons is NOT a valid defence of Fearne's empty trophy cabinet.

If its 7 different teams winning over 8 seasons except for Fearne's Taipans you could easily suggest Fearne failed over an even 8 year span.

If its 1 team winning over 8 seasons, no coach would stand front of the leadership group at the end of the season and say 'I didn't win because I'm not coaching the New Zealand Breakers'.

"If Fearne had the money to sign top line players, ie Bryce Cotton he'd have championship rings. Lot crap talking on here. :))"

Money does not automatically buy you rings.

Example Sydney and Melbourne last year. Perth Wildcats with DeAndre Daniels.

I money bought rings the Kings would be putting on extra rafters to hang the banners from...

But when money is spent wisely, you get a Cotton, not a Harrington....

Podge, is the story of why Fu got the boot last season ready to come out yet?

Podge, is the story of why Fu got the boot last season ready to come out yet?

Gotta keep something for the memoirs;)