The Boston Celtics signed Torrey Craig on the night of the trade deadline after sending Jaden Springer to the Houston Rockets, leaving them with only 13 players on the roster. Craig, who is 34 years old, joins the Celtics after getting waived by the Chicago Bulls in the wake of the Zach LaVine trade.
Craig has always been a solid 3-and-D player, his career highlighted by a deep playoff run with the Phoenix Suns. He’d only appeared in a couple of games with the Celtics so far, but he nailed two threes in his debut game and notched three blocks in Boston’s recent win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
He also took part in his first Celtics event on Friday afternoon.
Torrey Craig loves Joe Mazzulla
After flying back from Philadelphia in the morning, Craig helped the Celtics and Dunkin’ at the unveiling of the renovated gym at the Boys and Girls Club in South Boston.
The new Celtics ran through drills with 50 kids from the greater Boston area, handing out some tickets to future games along the way.
And when speaking with reporters after the event, Craig spoke about his appreciation for Joe Mazzulla.
“I always admired Joe from afar. He has this attitude about him. He don't care about anything,” Craig said with a laugh. “He just wants to win. And I'm the same way. So, the similarities, I just seen that from afar, and how much he cares, and how much he coaches the guys. He holds you to a certain standard, and you just love to play for a guy like that.”
Torrey Craig revealed why he signed with the Celtics and gave his first impressions of the City of Boston
— Jack Simone (@JackSimoneNBA) February 21, 2025
Spoiler alert: The ice already got to him🧊 pic.twitter.com/iWnrSLvzzr
Mazzulla has established a reputation as one of the most unique coaches in the NBA, and clearly Craig is a fan of the way he conducts himself.
The new Celtic also mentioned that the reason he chose to sign with Boston is because he wanted to be on a team where his presence and impact could be felt.
“I just let my agent handle everything,” Craig. “He told me that the teams that was reaching out, and we ultimately wanted to go to the team that made the most sense. Where I could bring my presence and my experience and help the most. And I'm just glad we're here now and ready to keep moving forward.”
Seeing Craig get integrated into the community so quickly after joining the team is great, and the fact that he’s so fond of Mazzulla already speaks volumes.