DeMarre Carroll provides Brooklyn Nets with Veteran Presence, Credibility
By Omri Benami
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Toronto Raptors have agreed to trade DeMarre Carroll to the Brooklyn Nets in a salary dump move. The Nets received Toronto’s 2018 first and second round picks, and sent Justin Hamilton to the Raptors.
Late Saturday night it became clear that the Washington Wizards were going to match Brooklyn’s max offer sheet to Otto Porter Jr. Sean Marks stuck to his game plan this off season and took on another teams contract in exchange for draft assets. The draft picks are a nice addition considering the Brooklyn Nets don’t have their own first round pick next season.
The addition of DeMarre Carroll will also provide a boost to Kenny Atkinson’s squad this season. At six-foot-eight-inches, Carroll, who will turn 31 this month, will be a veteran presence on this young Nets team. In addition to providing mentorship, he also fills a need at small forward, with the ability to defend and shoot the three.
Coming off a career season in 2014-15 with the Atlanta Hawks, Carroll signed a four year, $60 million contract with Toronto. Injuries limited him to 26 games in 2015-16, and his numbers regressed last season in 72 contests. He averaged nine points, four rebounds, a steal and a block per game on 40 percent shooting.
His advanced stats paint a slightly better picture however, as Carroll had a win share of 3.8 and a true shooting percentage of 53. He also had his lowest turnover percentage in the last five seasons. That’s big for a Nets team that struggled in that area last season.
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There are more reasons for optimism with Carroll this season as well. He’s reunited with Atkinson from his Atlanta days. He’s also another year removed from injury, and playing on a team where his usage will increase.
Here are his highlights from that last season in Atlanta:
Young wings like Caris Levert and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson can learn from Carroll’s effort on both sides of the ball. He also brings a winning pedigree and playoff experience. These will serve the team well as they attempt to fight for a playoff spot.
After losing out on his top free agent target in Otto Porter, credit Sean Marks for making a great recovery. He leveraged the Nets cap space, once again, and gained in both the present and the future.
Since he took over, Marks has acquired first round picks in each of his first three drafts. He turned Brook Lopez, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Justin Hamilton into D’Angelo Russell, Timofey Mozgov, Jarett Allen, and DeMarre Carroll.
This tweet just about sums it up.
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