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Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Summary
I was surprised when Craig had to settle for a minimum contract last offseason (I doubt that Craig turned down bigger offers to go to Milwaukee, as he hasn't earned a ton of money in his career in the same way that a veteran might turn down bigger offers to sign with a contender). While he was an older free agent (Craig turned 30 during this season), I thought that he showed enough in Denver to get a decent contract.
His offensive game is surely his biggest question. He doesn't have a tight handle, which hurts his ability to make plays off the catch. He has also never shot above average from three. However, his finishing at the rim has always been solid, and his shot selection to avoid midrange jumpers has made him a fairly efficient player. The Suns were able to get Craig essentially for free, poking their head into the PJ Tucker trade. Craig has gotten some real minutes for the Suns, including in the playoffs.
Craig is a good defensive player. He has good size and strength, and works his ass off on that end. I think Craig is a solid rotational player on a really good team, even if he's not someone you want to give a ton of minutes to. I would give him more than the minimum, but I'm not sure the league agrees with me.
Cap Considerations
Craig will be an unrestricted free agent with a $1.7 million cap hold and Non-Bird Rights. This means that the highest starting salary the Suns could offer him using the Non-Bird Exception is $2.1 million. This should be enough to retain Craig, since he settled for the minimum of $1.7 million last offseason. Alternatively, the Suns could use their Mid-Level Exception or Bi-Annual Exception to re-sign Craig if he demands more than $2.1 million.
Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Craig as even teams without cap space could possibly use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or possibly even the Room MLE or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. Since he signed a minimum contract last offseason, teams will hope to get him at the minimum this summer too.
Potential Teams: Suns, Timberwolves, Knicks, Jazz, Spurs
Predicted Contract: 1-year, $2.1 million with the Suns
Actual Contract: 2-year, $10 million with the Pacers
Craig did better in free agency than I expected, getting significantly more than the Suns could have given him using his Non-Bird Rights. However, they could have brought him back at a similar number with the remainder of their MLE that they had after using just over half of it to sign JaVale McGee.
Last updated: 8/17/2021
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