4:23pm: The Hornets have officially released Carroll, the team announced today in a press release.
3:01pm: The Hornets have completed their buyout of Matt Carroll's contract, making him a free agent, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). Stein had reported last week that the two sides were working on a buyout agreement after Carroll was traded to New Orleans by the Bobcats.
Carroll, 32, had seen his production decline over the course of his second stint with the Bobcats. When he was pushed out of the rotation this season, Charlotte elected to send him to the Hornets in exchange for Hakim Warrick. However, the veteran shooter wasn't in New Orleans' plans either, and the team started working on buying out his contract almost immediately, according to Stein.
Once Carroll clears waivers, he'll become a free agent, eligible to sign with any team except the Bobcats. When Stein first reported that the Hornets were negotiating a buyout, the ESPN.com scribe suggested that Carroll could appeal to the Lakers. Any club that shows interest in picking up the Notre Dame product would be hoping for something closer to his 2010/11 production (12.2 PER, .370 3PT%) rather than a repeat of his 2011/12 campaign (5.6 PER, .186 3PT%).