Brooklyn Nets: What to expect from DeMarre Carroll in 2018-19

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LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 9: DeMarre Carroll #9 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 9, 2018 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Supporting the youth movement

Over the course of his first season in Brooklyn, Carroll has become as a mentor to the young players still finding their way in the league.

Taking players like Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen under his wing as his “little brothers,” he had become a guiding figure in the rebranding of the Nets franchise.

Acting as the epitome of “Brooklyn Grit,” he set the tone for his Nets teammates in-game by crashing the boards with tenacity and hustling up and down the court on defense.

He embraces his leadership role and realizes that he is more than just the (relatively) old man on the squad. In his own words,

"At the end of the day, I feel like I still got a lot more to do in this league, and I still can do a lot more. So at the end of the day, I got to keep trying to prep these young guys, but also keep trying to prove myself on the court."

This offseason, he has taken the initiative, setting up off-court team building activities such as hiking trips in Los Angeles and being a presence at the team’s Las Vegas Summer League games.

He was present at this year’s Summer League in Las Vegas, giving advice and supporting a Nets team that ended the tournament winless.

Carroll’s presence at the Summer League was more for the players on the court than for him. The former journeyman said in an interview at a game:

"At one point I was like them. So me, personally, I always come back here. Just to see an NBA guy who’s been through the trenches and been through the way on the sideline, I think it gives them a little bit more motivation."

Carroll will be the calming veteran presence of the team as the Nets push for a low playoff seed. Carroll has played the most playoff minutes on the team and has made it the furthest of all the current Nets, with exception of Joe Harris, who made the Finals with the Cavaliers in 2015.

His experience of the league, along with those of the new additions of Shabazz Napier, Davis and Jared Dudley, will be a key tool in molding the young core and helping grow into their own in the league.