DeMarre Carroll has agreed to a buyout with the San Antonio Spurs according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
This is a big hit for the Spurs as they will inherit the rest of Carroll’s contract according to Bobby Marks. He is a front office insider of the ESPN NBA. However, a big reason for this is the lack of playing time with the San Antonio Spurs compared to his playing time with the Brooklyn Nets. The Spurs have hardly played Carroll this year and is a big factor why Carroll is leaving the organization.
DeMarre Carroll Leaves San Antonio Spurs Organization with Buyout
According to Dana Garuder of Hoops Rumors, this is not a surprising move. Carroll has publicly voiced his frustration with his lack of playing time. He has only played an average of nine minutes per game and appeared in only 15 games this season. This is much less than the minutes he played with the Brooklyn Nets. He averaged 11.1 points per game, 4.2 rebounds per game in 25.4 minutes per game.
Caroll’s agent Mark Bartelstein negotiated the buyout. A big reason for this is wanting to sign for the Houston Rockets. The Rockers are currently fifth in the Western Conference behind the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, and the Denver Nuggets.
DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Green to the Houston Rockets
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Carroll plans to sign with the Houston Rockets after getting through waivers.
Forward DeMarre Carroll intends to sign with the Houston Rockets after he clears waivers, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 17, 2020
The Houston Rockets have two open roster spots and are obliged to sign at least one player. However, it looks like the Rockets have only one roster spot available. Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweeted out that Jeff Green has been signed by the Houston Rockets.
Veteran forward Jeff Green has agreed to sign with the Rockets, league sources tell ESPN. Green averaged 7.8 points and 2.7 rebounds in 30 games with the Jazz this season.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) February 17, 2020
Green last played for the Utah Jazz as he averaged 7.8 points, 2.7 assists, 0.7 assists, and 0.4 steals per game. Like Carroll, his minutes have gone down. Last season he was averaging 27.2 minutes per game with the Washington Wizards. Now he is only averaging 18.4 minutes per, which is why his stats have also come down this year.
The thinking behind this for the Houston Rockets is the three-point shooting percentage of both Carroll and Green. They are hoping that their three-point shooting and defense will help them win the NBA Championship this year.
Houston Rockets: Three-Point Shooting and Defense
The two things Green and Carroll are doing well this year is their three-point shooting and defense.
Green is averaging 32.7 percent from beyond the arc this year. Furthermore, even though Carroll does not have a good three-point percentage this year, he was 34.2 percent from the three-point line last year.
The other and maybe even more important role both these players will play in is defense. He was famous for being one of the few players that can guard against LeBron James when Carroll was a member of the Atlanta Hawks.
“Make him work for everything, and make him super tired, that is the biggest thing with LeBron,” Carroll said in an interview with Rolling Out.
He would later tell the interviewer that the purpose of making him tired is for James to miss shots at full court. He is a very useful player that the Rockets hope will help them when they face guys like Kawhi Leonard or James in the NBA playoffs. This is especially true when the Rockets traded Clint Capela to the Atlanta Hawks and playing small ball going forward.
Possibility of DeMarre Carroll Signing with the Rockets
The possibilities of him signing with the Houston Rockets are quite high. Even with Green signed to a 10-day contract, Carroll could still play a pivotal role in the Rockets’ defense. According to Fox Sports, the Rockets are 22nd in points allowed per game.
They will hope that signing Green and Carroll they will finally reach the NBA Finals. They already have the offense with explosive players like Russell Westbrook and James Harden. However, defense is also needed to win NBA Championships. The Rockets will be hoping these players will help with defending players like James and Leonard.
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