Carroll deserves positive reception in return
DeMarre Carroll is going to get booed by many Raptors fans when he makes his return to Toronto on Friday night.
We get it, but it’s a mistake. While Vince Carter, Chris Bosh and Tracy McGrady deserved the vitriol for the way they handled their exits, Carroll actually did the team a favour. Plus, he did something else in service of the franchise and his teammates that should be lauded. More on that later. First off, Carroll ruffled some feathers when he indicated to this reporter in a phone interview back in July that there were issues that held the Raptors back.
“Toronto is an (isolation) team, that’s what they win off (of ), that’s what they’ve been playing off of for five, six years now,” Carroll said.
“This year, I feel like a lot of guys didn’t trust each other, and a lot of guys, they didn’t feel like other guys could produce or (be) given the opportunity, so there was a lack of trust on our team. That’s what hindered us from going (as far as they wanted to go).”
Carroll was ripped for the comments (or maybe more so for the headlines and for conclusions drawn by many who didn’t even read the article and its companion piece from a day earlier), but the thing is, he was right.
There was a lack of trust (and part of it was because Carroll and Patrick Patterson missed a lot of shots) and the style was far too individualistic and easy to neutralize in the playoffs.
Just this week, Raptors’ coach Dwane Casey said the following about the changes the franchise knew needed to be made.
“Selling (Lowry and DeMar DeRozan) it was a challenge, because those two guys are all-stars, they are Olympians, so, ‘Why do we have to change coach? I’m one of the best in the league going 1-on-1.’ But, Kyle understands, DeMar understands, for us to go and to keep guys from keying on them and taking them out once the playoffs (come) and once you have time to prepare for a week, they understood that. They’re smart players,” Casey said.
And you can’t argue with the results so far.
The passing is way up, as is the shooting efficiency. Toronto is harder to guard (only Golden State and Houston have been deadlier) and a deep roster has contributions coming from every corner of the court.
Many fans don’t like the contract Carroll was given, but nobody in his position would have turned it down. At the time, he was one of the bigger free agent signings in franchise history, and he could have been a nice fit had he been healthy. (Carroll has bounced back this season in Brooklyn, averaging career bests in scoring, rebounding and made three-pointers. He leads the clubs in starts, minutes and rebounds per game).
It’s also not his fault that the franchise had to unload draft picks in order to move his big salary due to future luxury tax concerns.
You can argue that maybe Carroll shouldn’t have revealed the team’s internal issues. But nobody can say he didn’t give his all for the club.
Carroll rushed back from knee surgery when he probably should have rehabbed for longer, because he wanted to be a part of a team that eventually went all the way to the conference finals for the first time. Carroll was far from 100 per cent, but gutted out an early return to help out his teammates.
That should count for something.
Carroll was a fan favourite in Utah, Atlanta and Memphis before he was making big money and hampered by injuries.
He shouldn’t be celebrated on Friday night at the ACC, but he shouldn’t be booed, either.