This past offseason, the Brooklyn Nets made one of the biggest steals of the summer, acquiring DeMarre Carroll, a 2018 first round pick and a second round pick for Justin Hamilton.
During his NBA career, DeMarre Carroll has always been the underdog, but that has never seemed to matter. After spending the first five years of his NBA career on six different teams, including his D-League stint, he finally found a home with the Atlanta Hawks. Eventually, he played himself into a massive contract during the 2015 offseason with the Toronto Raptors.
After spending an injury-riddled two seasons with Toronto, he found himself on the trading block with no suitors because of his massive contract. That’s where the Brooklyn Nets came in.
The Nets, being so desperate for draft picks, were eager to take on his contract if they could receive draft compensation, which they did. The return of Justin Hamilton — a player who was immediately waived after he was traded from the Nets to Toronto in the deal — meant the Raptors were essentially giving Carroll away. Not only that, but trading their 2018 first round pick just to move him showed how low his trade value was at the time.
Most teams who take on a player with a sizable contract while getting draft compensation in return do not have much use for the player. This was not the case for DeMarre Carroll and the Nets.
Only time will tell how valuable the 2018 first round pick is (No. 29 in the draft), but the effects of Carroll have already paid massive dividends. This season, the veteran forward averaged career highs in points (13.5 per game) and rebounds (6.6 per game), and he also spread the floor with 37.5 percent shooting from downtown on 5.4 attempts per game.
But that is not why he carried so much value.
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Carroll was the most important piece of the trade, because he became the winner and leader the Nets so desperately coveted. These past three seasons have been devoid of hope because there was no one to instill winning culture. He became that guy quickly.
DeMarre Carroll is a winner, spending the past three seasons on teams winning between 50-60 games. He brought his trademarked “Junkyard Dog” mentality that earned him co-Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors for the Hawks.
The Nets, a young team, had Carroll, Kenny Atkinson’s “on the floor coach” to demonstrate winning plays on and off the court. He was everything this organization desperately needed.
Dealing with the media, dealing with trade rumors, dealing with losing, dealing with just about everything a struggling team goes through — Carroll was there as an ambassador. He represented the Nets with passion and a genuine care to make the players and the organization better every day.
Although his trade value was rock bottom last offseason, that is not the case now. He has re-established himself as one of the great role players and leader in the NBA.
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Teams will be calling for Carroll’s services this summer, but regardless of his future in Brooklyn, and whoever the eventual draft picks become, the future success of Brooklyn will be indebted in part to DeMarre Carroll’s on-court contributions and professionalism that helped establish a new mentality moving forward.