We brought him over from Australia 3 years ago and he started out on a two way. He then earned a spot in the rotation and has played important playoff minutes for us the past two seasons. He was Malone's safety blanket-- which is likely part of why we let him go (to ensure Bol and MPJ get proper minutes).
He is best utilized as a 9th or 10th man, utility player. Hustle and grit are at the heart of his game. He is a solid one on one defender of certain types of guards-- those who aren't quick twitch OR play with aggression but aren't particularly high IQ. For example, he has done a good job against Russel Westbrook over the years and was used on CJ in our playoff series against the Blazers. He lacks length but is strong as hell which means is can guard some SF but the results tend to dwindle.
Because he has played key minutes in the playoffs and because he has done a good job guarding certain stars, the national media tends to overrate him. And here's why-- A) he is not a good help defender and B) he is a liability on O. He constantly had miscommunications with Jokic that resulted in turnovers, even in year 3, and Jokic didn't always hide his frustration. More importantly, he has no jump shot and is extremely streaky from behind the arch. So teams choose not to guard him and instead use his man to roam the passing lanes or to double.
Because of this, our offense often tanked with him in the game and most Nuggets fans would argue that his - impact on O out weighs his + contributions on D. However, not all of this is his fault. Malone's biggest flaw is the way his rotations often refuse to account for spacing because he prioritizes D. For example, our bench unit was one of the best of the league in 18 / 19' but got destroyed in 19' / 20' because Malone regularly played Plumlee / Grant (slow release) / Craig together. It was so bad that Malik Beasley- he who put up 20ppg once traded to the Wolves- struggled due to being the only pure shooter on the floor and was eventually benched. Similar things happened if Sap (who also has a slow release), Grant and Craig were on the floor together.
Point being, I think Craig has a role on a winning team but it is dependent on how Bud uses him. There NEED to be shooters around him, especially in the playoffs. As somebody who has watched Bledsoe for 3 years-- I think you probably understand what I'm saying.
