Just call him ‘the answer’
DeMarre Carroll is no Allen Iverson, but the newest member of the Toronto Raptors solves many of the problems the NBA team had this past season.
As currently constructed, the Toronto Raptors are a team with plenty of flaws to fix. Based on last season, the biggest issue was defence, and particularly perimeter defence. The Raptors were the leakiest of ships — at least among the ones that sailed to the playoffs.
However that was far from all. The Raptors were humorously reticent to move the ball on offence, completely abandoning the style that helped them take the league by surprise a year earlier. And they were far too eager to let their individual talent dictate their offence. At times, it looked like they had no idea how to involve centre Jonas Valanciunas in their attack. In the post-season, the Wizards exposed the Raptors’ offence as woefully one-dimensional.
It was easy to point the finger at the coaching staff that, as admitted by head coach Dwane Casey at the end of the season, was unable to get the Raptors to embrace a more teamcentric approach. However, the roster, and by extension, management, has to own the majority of that failure. Oh — the Raptors also finished 25th in defensive rebounding percentage. Other than that, everything was fine. Franchise record for wins! Another banner! Huzzah!
You can never know precisely how a player will fit in with a new team before he hits the floor. Even last year, when the Raptors returned more or less the same roster as a season before, the puzzle pieces looked a bit askew. With all of that in mind, DeMarre Carroll, whom the Raptors signed on the first day of free agency, answers a lot of questions that were frequently asked as their season unravelled in 2015.
Carroll, who will turn 29 later this month, immediately becomes the Raptors’ best perimeter defender. After watching the parade of opposing guards torch Toronto, Carroll’s defence will be essential.
It is Carroll’s offence — and more specifically, his offensive instincts — that should figure to delight scarred Raptors fans. That Carroll played for the Atlanta Hawks, the Eastern conference version of the San Antonio Spurs, should help give the Raptors some passing DNA. Make no mistake: The playmaking onus will still fall on Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, assuming that they start the season as Raptors. However, Carroll is a savvy enough player to make the extra pass, a quality that the Raptors desperately needed last season. If Carroll’s presence allows DeRozan to stick to guarding smaller players on the wing, all the better. Carroll averaged 12.6 points per game last season, shooting 39.5 per cent from three-point range. (And he can break news, too.)
Now, let’s get to the money. Carroll becomes the Raptors’ highestpaid player, which seems very odd. The price — US$60 million over four seasons — is a lot by current standards, and $3 million more per season than the Raptors gave Lowry last year. But with the NBA’s salary cap set to rise to $89 million next summer and $107 million the following year, Carroll’s contract does not look so bad. While devoting nearly a quarter of their cap space to Carol seems absurd, committing one sixth of their room to him is very reasonable — and will only get more reasonable as the cap grows, even if Carroll’s contract is somewhat backloaded.
Still, there are plenty of questions to address. USA Today has reported that the Raptors are interested in signing Portland swingman Wes Matthews. To do that, Masai Ujiri would have to pull off some financial gymnastics. It would also mean surrendering the option to go over the salary cap to sign their own free agents, including Lou Williams (Amir Johnson reportedly agreed to a two-year deal with the Celtics on Wednesday). It could mean trading Terrence Ross for little, moving cult hero James Johnson for nothing and living with Patrick Patterson as the team’s only traditionally sized power forward. What happens next is going to be fascinating. Trying to forecast the way the dominoes will fall at this point is intellectually stimulating and practically impossible.
For the moment, Carroll changes the Raptors’ stylistic complexion. On the first day of free agency, that counts as a huge win and a bigger relief.