As a part of out ongoing series “The Beat” we spoke with Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun regarding a number of Raptors-related topics. One such topic was whether or not small forward DeMarre Carroll would justify the four-year, $58MM contract he inked with Toronto this offseason. Wolstat’s response to our question was:
“Considering how insane the money is getting in the NBA, the Carroll deal seems pretty fine to me. His track record isn’t as long as you’d like, but he’s been a very good player for a while now, and was by far Atlanta’s best performer in the playoffs, and that was a very good team. He’s a perfect fit both on and off the floor. He gives Toronto badly-needed size at small forward, another outside threat in the starting lineup and above-average defense and a willingness to compete against any of the NBA’s top swingmen. He also is a leader with an infectious style of play. His relentlessness, similar to how Lowry plays, already seems to be rubbing off.The Raptors would love to see the postseason version of Carroll every night, but if the regular season guy shows up, that will be fine.”
This brings me to the topic/question of the day: What sort of production will the Raptors need from DeMarre Carroll to justify his new contract?
Do you agree with Wolstat, and believe that Carroll’s stat line of 12.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per contest coupled with his excellent perimeter defense would justify the Raptors’ investment in him? If not, what numbers would the 29-year-old need to put up to satisfy you? What averages do you think Carroll will actually end the 2015/16 campaign with, keeping in mind he’ll be learning a new set of teammates and system in Toronto?
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.
15.4PPG, 6.6APG, 5.7RPG, 0.9 SPG
Would those numbers live up to his salary in your opinion?
6.6 assists? Way to pull numbers out of your ass. That would have been good for 12th place last year. Ahead of more than half the starting PGs in the league. He was signed to lock down perimeter players because they were terrible defensively. He is also going to be their most efficient scorer outside of JV because he doesn’t need the ball in his hands or take terrible long contested twos. They need that considering their 2 top players shoot 41%.
14 ppg 3assists 6 rebounds 1.5 stls. Decent for his contract
14.6 ppg 3.8 apg 6.2 rpg 1.5 spg
I don’t know that he needs to score quite as much as others suggest. His primary job there will be defense and floor-spacing. If he can continue to hit between 38%-40% of his threes and average somewhere between the 12.6 PPG he put up in the regular season and his 14.6 PPG from the postseason, that’s probably enough. The question for me is whether he can perform up to that level outside the system that incubated him in Atlanta.
One of the reasons Carroll went to the Raptors was that he wanted more offensive responsibility while still being an elite perimeter defender 14.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.3 SPG r acceptable numbers for the contract he signed which in a years time won’t seem as bad when the NBA cap goes up
If he can shoot and defend like he did last season with the Hawks, he’ll justify the contract.
Look for his rebounding numbers to go up considering they plan on playing him at PF at times. Scoring will probably go up a point or 2 since he isn’t deferring to the same caliber of players and went from 5th option to 3rd or 4th, assists might go down with Lowry and Derozans ball hogging and iso tendencies, also look for his FG% to drop a bit being out of the free flowing Atlanta offence. All in all I would say 13.5/6.8/1.5/1.2/0.7 45%FG 36%3PT