DeMarre Carroll Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Raptors Trade DeMarre Carroll To Nets

July 13th, 2017 at 12:44pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 13: The trade is now official, the Nets and Raptors announced today in a pair of press releases. Brooklyn receives Carroll, the Raptors’ 2018 first-round pick, and the less favorable of the Lakers’ and Magic’s 2018 second-round picks. The Raptors receive Hamilton and create an $11.8MM trade exception.

JULY 8: The Raptors have agreed to trade DeMarre Carroll to the Nets in a salary-dump deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. According to Wojnarowski, Brooklyn will receive first- and second-round picks for 2018 from the Raptors, and will send Justin Hamilton to Toronto.

Even though they lost P.J. Tucker and Patrick Patterson in free agency, the Raptors’ new agreements with Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka pushed them into luxury-tax territory. Team ownership had expressed a willingness to pay the tax in certain scenarios, but in this case, Toronto was believed to be looking for a way back below that threshold, having also reportedly shopped Cory Joseph and Jonas Valanciunas.

In Carroll, the Nets will be landing a veteran swingman who has battled health issues since leaving the Hawks in 2015. Carroll signed a lucrative four-year deal with the Raptors that summer, but only appeared in 26 games in his first season with the franchise, and never appeared to be back to his old self in 2016/17, despite starting 72 games. In 26.1 minutes per contest last season, Carroll averaged 8.9 PPG and 3.8 RPG, with a shooting line of .400/.341/.761.

Carroll is owed $14.8MM in 2017/18 and $15.4MM in 2018/19, while Hamilton’s expiring contract is worth just $3MM. However, having had their offer sheet to Otto Porter matched by the Wizards, the Nets will have an excess of cap room to accommodate a salary dump of this nature, and should still have $15MM+ available if they want to pursue another free agent or take on another contract.

Meanwhile, the Raptors project to get out of tax territory by moving Carroll, and should have the flexibility to retain Joseph and Valanciunas, who are key pieces in their rotation. The team also still has its full mid-level exception available, though team salary isn’t very far below the $119.266MM tax line, and using more than the taxpayer MLE would create a hard cap of $125.266MM. As such, the club may not be eager to use that MLE.

Hamilton, 27, will head to Toronto in the swap, coming off a career year for Brooklyn. The veteran center averaged 6.9 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 64 games (18.4 MPG) for the Nets. He also made a career-best 0.9 threes per game, albeit at a mediocre 30.6% rate. Hamilton could be an interesting addition to Toronto’s frontcourt, but the Raptors figure to be on the lookout for help on the wing, with big-bodied swingman Carroll and Tucker both moving on this summer.

As for the draft picks changing hands in this deal, the Raptors’ first-round pick heading to the Nets will be lottery-protected, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link). Toronto has already traded its own 2018 second-round pick, but holds the rights to the less favorable of the Lakers’ and Magic’s second-rounder, so that figures to be the other selection headed to Brooklyn.

The deal won’t be finalized until the Nets’ cap room for the Porter offer sheet officially opens back up.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nets Notes: Carroll, Free Agents, Aldrich, Draft Pick

July 9th, 2017 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Brooklyn GM Sean Marks got Raptors president Masai Ujiri to sweeten the deal involving DeMarre Carroll as they talked during Saturday’s games at the Las Vegas Summer League, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Toronto’s original offer involved just Carroll and a first-round pick, but Marks was able to convince Ujiri to send along a second-rounder and take back the $3MM contract of Justin Hamilton.

The deal provides needed cap relief for the Raptors, while giving the Nets a replacement for Otto Porter after the Wizards announced their intention to match Brooklyn’s four-year, $106.5MM offer sheet. The trade may not be finalized before Thursday while the Nets wait for the Wizards to conduct Porter’s physical and report the results to the league.

There’s more today out of Brooklyn:

With nearly $17MM left in cap space along with a $4.3MM room exception, the Nets will move on to other targets in free agency, Lewis adds. They were believed to be interested in Pistons’ guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, but the Carroll trade prevents them from making a max offer. Caldwell-Pope turned down $80MM over five years from Detroit, but his options may be limited now as fewer teams have cap room to work with. Other possibilities for Brooklyn are C.J. Miles, Dewayne Dedmon, Nikola Mirotic or another restricted free agent in JaMychal Green. Coach Kenny Atkinson sees the value in having an older player around. “I do think [Marks and I] both agree that we don’t want to go in with a totally young roster,” he said. “We do need that veteran support. If it’s the right position where somebody can help us, it’s definitely something [to consider].”
Saturday’s deal may end the Timberwolves’ hopes of getting the Nets to take on Cole Aldrich’s salary, Lewis notes in the same piece. Minnesota wants to unload Aldrich, who will make $7.3MM in the upcoming season and nearly $6.9MM in 2018/19, to create enough cap room to sign Miles. However, Marks wouldn’t agree to the deal unless the Wolves threw in Oklahoma City’s 2018 first-rounder.
The second-rounder the Nets will receive in the Carroll deal will probably be the lower of the Magic or Lakers picks, according to a tweet from NetsDaily. Brooklyn already has the rights to the Pacers’ 2018 second-rounder if Indiana misses the playoffs.

Ujiri: Not Realistic For Raptors To Re-Sign All FAs

May 9th, 2017 at 11:07am CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to local reporters today at his end-of-season press conference, Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri admitted that it’s not “realistic” for the team to retain all four of its key free agents this offseason (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN 1050). In addition to Kyle Lowry, who confirmed on Monday that he’ll opt out of his contract, veteran Raptors forwards Serge Ibaka, P.J. Tucker and Patrick Patterson are all eligible for free agency this offseason.

That admission from Ujiri isn’t surprising. Lowry appears to be in line for a max deal or something close to it, and Ibaka will get a big payday as well. Tucker and Patterson figure to land more reasonable deals, but they’ve positioned themselves for raises of their own. Add it all together, and the Raptors would be going way into tax territory to retain a roster of players who were bounced in the second round of this year’s playoffs.

Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders examined the Raptors’ free agency situation earlier today, suggesting that Tucker and Patterson may be the odd men out, despite the fact that Toronto would – in theory – like to re-sign them both. According to Kyler, the framework for a multiyear deal for Ibaka that starts around $20MM is “basically done,” though nothing is finalized yet and rival suitors could still attempt to pry away the big man.

Meanwhile, even though Ujiri didn’t sound optimistic about bringing back all the Raptors’ free agents, he had plenty of praise for Lowry, calling the veteran point guard “a huge part of our success here” and asserting that “we want him back” (Twitter link via Eric Koreen of The Athletic).

Ujiri also weighed in on several other subjects during his presser, so let’s dive in and round up some highlights…

The Raptors’ performance against the Cavaliers was eye-opening, according to Ujiri, who suggested that the franchise may need a bit of a “culture reset” (Twitter link via Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic). Ujiri also acknowledged that the question of how to evolve from a “good” team to an “elite” team will be at the forefront for him this summer (Twitter link via Koreen).
One of Ujiri’s primary talking points today revolved around his desire to evaluate and re-think the Raptors’ style of play. The Raps president said he has told head coach Dwane Casey the team may need to change its approach on the court, rather than continuing to change its players (Twitter links via Lewenberg). Ujiri also hammered home the need to keep thinking progressively rather than getting stagnant. “We’ve tried what we’ve done so many times and it hasn’t worked. That’s the simple answer.” Ujiri said. “It’s easy to defend one-on-one” (Twitter links via Murphy).
While Ujiri’s comments on the Raptors’ style of play weren’t necessarily a direct indictment of the club’s head coach, Lewenberg left the presser feeling that Casey’s job may be in jeopardy (Twitter link).
Ujiri said today that team ownership is fully on board with whatever direction he and the front office choose to go, whether that means going into the tax, rebuilding, or something in between (Twitter link via Lewenberg).
Although he didn’t want to use it as an excuse, Ujiri acknowledged that the Raptors – having acquired Ibaka and Tucker at the deadline – didn’t spend a lot of time together in their current form, which makes it tricky to evaluate how all the players fit together (Twitter link via Murphy).
Asked whether the Raptors need more from their small forward spot, Ujiri said they do, but expressed optimism that DeMarre Carroll, who has never really been fully healthy since arriving in Toronto, will have a big summer (Twitter link via Murphy).

Atlantic Rumors: Knicks, Jackson, Raptors, Johnson

May 2nd, 2017 at 8:13pm CST by marksuleymanov

The Knicks are focused on trading Carmelo Anthony and becoming a younger team, but scarce financial resources may prevent the team from landing a max free agent, ESPN’s Ian Begley writes. Free agents Jrue Holiday and Jeff Teague are potential targets for New York, league sources tell Begley. However, with eight players on guaranteed contracts for next season, team president Phil Jackson said during a recent a press conference that the current team has “a dozen players that we’re very confident can support and be a part of a team. So we feel pretty good about that.”

Upgrading via free agency may be contingent on the Knicks trading Anthony, whom Jackson indicated “would be better off elsewhere” during the aforementioned presser. Begley notes that a hypothetical Melo trade could clear about $5MM in cap room, giving the Knicks $24MM — the team’s current cap space calls for $19MM available for the Knicks to spend.

However, a lot of Begley’s hypothetical offseason spending includes the Knicks not re-signing any of their young players. So if the Knicks intend on upgrading, players such as Jrue’s older brother Justin Holiday, Ron Baker, Maurice Ndour, and Chasson Randle may suit up elsewhere in 2017/18.

In other news around the Atlantic division.

The Nets maintain interest in Euroleague guard Edwin Jackson, according to Nets Daily. An earlier report indicated the club’s interest in the 27-year-old guard, who is averaging 21.8 points in 30 games for Movistar Estudiantes of the Liga ACB in Spain. The 6’1″ French guard has never suited up for an NBA team but he was in Nets camp three years ago, per Nets Daily. Jackson has indicated he would come stateside for a guaranteed NBA deal or seek a lucrative offer in Europe.
Nets Daily compiled a list of potential European targets for Brooklyn in addition to Jackson. Milos Teodosic, 30, Nicolo Melli, 26, and 2011 second-round NBA draft pick Tyler Honeycutt, 26, — who revived his career in Turkey — are listed as potential free agent options; Latvian-born Rodions Kurucs, 19, and Anzejus Pasecniks, 21, are both listed as possible draft targets.
In an attempt to contain the Cavaliers’ offense, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey may start Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals with Jonas Valanciunas and DeMarre Carroll on the bench, SportsNet’s Michael Grange writes. Both men — who were major signings by team president Masai Ujiri — have underperformed this postseason and Casey is “desperate” to jumpstart his team. Norman Powell and rookie Jakob Poeltl are likely to see significant playing time if Casey goes in that direction.
As he heads for free agency, Amir Johnson remains positive despite dwindling playing time for the Celtics, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe relays. While Johnson got the start for Boston tonight in Game 2, he has been a liability on both sides of the court for most of the postseason. Johnson led the Celtics in games (80) and starts (77) in the regular season and maintains he’s trying to work out of his slump. “If things aren’t working out for you, you know you’ve got to do the next thing,” Johnson said.

Who Should The Raptors Target At The Trade Deadline?

February 10th, 2017 at 7:16pm CST by Milo Taibi

The current owners of the fourth-seed in the Eastern Conference, there’s every reason to believe the Raptors will be active buyers at the trade deadline. But who will team president Masai Ujiri and GM Jeff Weltman target? As things currently stand, the Raptors will enter the second half with their 2015/16 rotation in place, sans Bismack Biyombo.

DeMar DeRozan has been vocal in his push for Toronto’s front office to acquire help; telling Laura Armstrong of the Toronto Star “help is a great word with any team. Anybody could take help any day if it makes you better, a team better, anything.” DeMarre Carroll echoed DeRozan’s sentiments, noting that the team’s starting unit has been stretched thin amid a playoff run.

One form of help (albeit a flashy one) could come in the form of Serge Ibaka. This past week, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders indicated the Raptors as a potential “long-term fit” for Ibaka’s services. Ibaka’s in the final year of a four-year, $49MM contract, but the Magic’s asking price is believed to be high. Provided Dwane Casey and the Raptors don’t need to sell off rotation players to acquire him, Ibaka would be a considerable upgrade over Patrick Patterson and Pascal Siakam in Toronto’s frontcourt.

Josh Lewenberg of TSN doubled-down on the team’s need to pursue a trade, citing the team’s recent struggles (Toronto has gone 4-6 over their last 10 games). While the team had offseason acquisition Jared Sullinger tabbed for a starting role, the former Celtic is still working to get in shape after suffering a fractured right foot in October. The Raptors have long admired Paul Millsap‘s game, Lewenberg writes, but the Hawks appear unlikely to deal him amidst their pursuit of a four-seed.

Ryan Wolstat of the National Post cited Ibaka and Millsap as ideal fits, while throwing Taj Gibson, Trevor Booker, and Wilson Chandler in the mix as potential trade targets. While Booker isn’t a “sexy name,” compared to Ibaka or Millsap, he has quietly enjoyed a productive for the 9-44 Nets. Averaging 10 points with 8.7 rebounds, the 29-year-old Booker is in the first year of a two-year, $18.375MM pact. Booker’s “doggedness,” on each end of the court is a trait the Raptors could use, Wolstat notes.

What do you think? Which target makes the most sense for Ujiri and Weltman to pursue? What’s Toronto’s ceiling for a 2016/17 playoff run?

Atlantic Notes: Anthony, Carroll, Knicks, Celtics

October 13th, 2016 at 6:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks star Carmelo Anthony indicated the NBA Players Association is highly motivated to hammer out a Collective Bargaining Agreement to keep the revenue from the league’s new $24 billion TV deal flowing, Al Iannazzone of Newsday reports. Anthony, a vice president in the union, believes there’s too much money at stake for the players to pursue a work stoppage, Iannazzone continues. “That’s a key, especially for us as players,” Anthony told Iannazzone and other beat reporters.“We don’t want to mess that up. We’re not going in there saying we want more money . . . We see how the league is growing. We see the growth of the league. We want to be a part of that.” Anthony said the league and its owners have been “very receptive” to completing a new CBA and the two parties are “closer to getting something done” than in 2011, when the season was delayed by a lockout.

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

Raptors small forward DeMarre Carroll is determined to deliver on his sizable contract after his injury-marred first season with the club, according to Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun. Carroll signed a four-year, $60MM contract in the summer of 2015 but appeared in just 26 regular-season games because of knee and foot injuries. He hasn’t had any setbacks this preseason and is eager to return to the form he displayed with the Hawks that made him a coveted free agent, Ganter adds. “To me, I still feel like I’ve got a chip on my shoulder,” he told Ganter. “Really, I’ve got a log on my shoulder. It’s bigger than a chip. I feel like last year I came in and started off thinking I was going to have a great season and then all of a sudden I get injured.”
The Knicks may send an assistant coach to Los Angeles to keep Derrick Rose up to date on offensive and defensive schemes during his ongoing civil sexual assault trial, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Rose missed his fifth practice since heading to California last week and coach Jeff Hornacek is worried about keeping his starting point guard up to speed, Berman continues. “We’re right now trying to think of if we should send somebody out there with him,’’ Hornacek told Berman. “We haven’t added a lot of new stuff from the time he left. We’re talking to him about the stuff we’re doing. He’s watched the games to try to see it.”
It’s highly unlikely the Celtics will be able to add Jazz small forward Gordon Hayward, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com opines. Utah’s unwillingness to part with Hayward, who can opt out of his current contract at the end of the season, is the main reason. His trade kicker, and the cost of retaining him long-term, also foster the notion that Hayward isn’t coming to Boston.

Atlantic Notes: Carroll, Rose, Kuzminskas

September 30th, 2016 at 10:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

DeMarre Carroll‘s first season with the Raptors after signing with the team as a free agent was marred by injury, with him seeing action in only 26 games as a result. While he’s still not 100% recovered, Carroll hopes his second campaign in Toronto is more productive, The Associated Press relays. “I look at it as basically my first season [with Toronto],” the 30-year-old Carroll said. “A new season, a new beginning. I’ve just got to come in and get back to playing DeMarre Carroll basketball when I’m healthy.” Speaking about the steps he took to prepare his injured knee for a return to the court, Carroll said, “We took a hard approach about it and we did it the right way. Last season it was more of a rush, trying to get me back. We didn’t go through the whole thing we needed to go through to get the knee to where it needs to be. I feel that we’re on the right track.”

Here’s more out of the Atlantic:

Not only is Derrick Rose getting used to a new city and new teammates, he’s also attempting to acclimate to the Knicks‘ triangle offense, which isn’t an easy task, Ian Begley of ESPN.com writes. “It’s complicated a little bit right now because it’s new to us. It’s foreign. But I think the more we work on it and the way the coaches are putting it into the offense, it’s [going to get] little bit easier,” Rose said after Thursday’s practice. “[There’s] like 40 to 50 options on one side of the floor. It’s like giving you your space for creativity. It’s like if you’re doing it the right way, you could do everything you want, you could freelance but you just got to know where you’re going.”
The Knicks are pleased with the outside shooting of rookie Mindaugas Kuzminskas, who may end up being Carmelo Anthony‘s primary backup at small forward, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “He’s a guy that with his size, got agility, you can look at him at the 2 or 3,’’ coach Jeff Hornacek said. “There could be times we use his length at the 2 spot. He’s a guy who cuts — cutters open everything up. The stat’s not in the paper. You don’t get glory from it but it’s a huge part.’’
Dario Saric‘s athleticism and versatility is earning him praise from the Sixers coaching staff and is setting the rookie forward apart from the other members of the team’s crowded frontcourt, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes.

And-Ones: Bosh, Hill, Carroll, Draft Workouts

May 2nd, 2016 at 5:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

Chris Bosh and his family are trying to get the players union involved as he pushes the Heat to allow him back in the lineup, but the doctors the Heat have consulted fear he could die on the court if plays this season, as ESPN Radio’s Dan Le Batard said on his show today and as Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post transcribes (audio link). Bosh feels fine, unlike the way he felt when he suffered from a similar blood clot issue last year, according to Le Batard, and a doctor the big man independently commissioned reportedly said Bosh would be OK if he plays. The 32-year-old will still have three years and more than $75.868MM remaining on his contract at the conclusion of this season.

See more from around the NBA:

One NBA GM thinks Solomon Hill warrants between $7MM and $9MM a year on his next contract, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (ESPN Now link). That would be a problem for Indiana if it wants to keep him. The Pacers can’t re-sign the combo forward for a salary greater than $2,306,019 next season because they declined the team option for that amount on his rookie scale contract.
DeMarre Carroll indicated Sunday that his season was indeed in jeopardy a month ago as he recovered from right knee surgery. Carroll, Toronto’s prize free agent acquisition from this past summer, instead returned to play in three of the Raptors‘ final five games of the regular season and all seven games of the team’s first-round ouster of Indiana. “Words can’t even explain how big it is … ,” Carroll said after the victory Sunday, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link). “A month ago I thought I wasn’t even going to be playing in the playoffs.”
Draft prospect Jaron Blossomgame will work out for the Jazz on Thursday, the Celtics on Saturday and the Grizzlies on May 16th, as the former Clemson small forward tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Former Iona combo guard A.J. English went through a predraft workout Saturday with the Jazz and has workouts scheduled for Tuesday with the Spurs and Wednesday with the Rockets, he told Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).

Eastern Rumors: Carroll, Lucas III, Jennings

April 4th, 2016 at 10:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors are hopeful of getting small forward DeMarre Carroll back in action for the final three games of the season, Mike Ganter of the National Post reports. Carroll, who hasn’t played since January 3rd after undergoing knee surgery, practiced in full on Monday and coach Dwane Casey wants him to scrape off some rust before the playoffs, Ganter adds. “The last three or whatever games there are when he comes back, we will use those as his test lab,” Casey told Ganter and other media members. “No disrespect to those teams but to get some work in, get some run in, get knocked down a few times, get hit a few times and see where he stands.”

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

Veteran point guard John Lucas III could sign with the Heat this week, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. The Heat will soon have the financially flexibility to add two players and Lucas nearly made Miami’s roster during training camp, Stein adds. Lucas, who appeared in 21 games with the Pistons last season, was playing for the Pacers’ D-League team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, before he was waived last month.
Magic point guard Brandon Jennings would like to re-sign with the club, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets. Jennings, an unrestricted free agent after the season, is averaging 7.1 points and 4.0 assists in 24 games with Orlando since the Pistons dealt him and power forward Ersan Ilyasova at the trade deadline for power forward Tobias Harris.
A New York City man has been arrested in connection with the December 30th robbery and shooting of Knicks small forward Cleanthony Early, according to John Marzulli of the New York Daily News. Early has averaged 20 minutes over the team’s last two games after a D-League stint.

Atlantic Notes: Afflalo, Durant, Powell, Early

April 1st, 2016 at 9:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Executives around the league believed Arron Afflalo was likely to turn down his $8MM player option for next season with the Knicks even before the shooting guard and interim coach Kurt Rambis began publicly disagreeing about whether they discussed Afflalo’s benching, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Afflalo’s choice is key since the team would have the cap flexibility necessary to chase middle-tier max free agents if he opts out, Begley notes. Afflalo and teammate Derrick Williams must decide on their player options no later than June 22nd, the day before the draft.

See more from the Atlantic Division:

Former Providence College head coach Tim Welsh said in an appearance on “Toucher & Rich” on WBZ-FM that his conversations with NBA types of late indicate that the Celtics will be on the list of teams Kevin Durant‘s will at least look at in free agency this summer, in large measure because of the allure of coach Brad Stevens (video link via Comcast Sports Net Northeast).
DeMarre Carroll‘s injury has given Raptors 2015 second-round pick Norman Powell more of a chance at the NBA level that first-rounder Delon Wright has had, and Powell is playing a much different role in Toronto than he did early this season on assignment with the team’s D-League affiliate, notes Eric Koreen of Sportsnet. Still, Raptors D-League coach Jesse Mermuys sees Powell’s time with Raptors 905 reflected in his play of late. “All he saw was the rim, no matter how many bodies were there,” Mermuys said of Powell’s D-League performance. “We really wanted to try to develop when he got to the paint and got to the rim and there was a crowd, [that he would be] able to make the right play and the simple play, which he dramatically improved in his time. The more time he played and worked at it, it was a pretty rapid improvement, which was a huge sign for him. His ability to improve at that rate is why he is in the position he’s in now.”
The Knicks have recalled Cleanthony Early from the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link). Early has made only one 19-second appearance at the NBA level since he was injured in a December shooting.