Veteran NBA forward DeMarre Carroll is transitioning to coaching, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), who reports that Carroll will join Mike Budenholzer‘s staff in Milwaukee.
The Bucks have yet to formally announce Carroll’s hiring, so it’s unclear whether he’ll be on the front of the team’s bench or if he’ll start with a more modest player development role. However, Carroll’s agency Priority Sports posted a tweet congratulating him for becoming an assistant coach, which suggests that will be his title.
The 27th overall pick in 2009 out of Missouri, Carroll spent the next 11 seasons in the NBA, appearing in a total of 578 regular season games and 64 playoff contests for the Grizzlies, Rockets, Nuggets, Jazz, Hawks, Raptors, Nets, and Spurs.
Now 36 years old, Carroll last played in the NBA during the 2019/20 season, when he appeared in 24 total games for San Antonio and Houston. The 6’6″ forward has career averages of 8.9 PPG and 4.2 RPG on .430/.358/.741 shooting in 23.7 minutes per contest.
Two of Carroll’s best seasons came from 2013-15, when he was a full-time starter for a Hawks team coached by Budenholzer. During Carroll’s two years in Atlanta, the club earned a pair of playoff berths and won 60 regular season games in 2014/15, making the Eastern Conference Finals that spring.
Carroll published a tweet referring to Budenholzer as a mentor and thanking him and the Bucks for the new opportunity. “Excited to be shadowing one of the best coaches in the league!” Carroll wrote.
Solid move. Loved DeMarre when he was with the Nets.