DeMarre Carroll thinks he could have done more.
Seriously.
There is no question Carroll had a breakout season in his first season in a Hawks uniform. The forward had career-highs in games played, points, rebounds, assists, steals, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage. He ranked third in the NBA in steals-to-turnovers ratio. All for the bargain price of $2,557,545.
And get this, Carroll will make $115,090 less this season as he completes the two-year, $5 million free-agent deal he signed last summer.
Carroll will become a free agent following this season. He and Paul Millsap must hit the open market, per the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, because they signed less than four-year contracts. They may re-sign with the Hawks during the free-agent period, but cannot get an extension beforehand.
“I lot of people said it was a breakout year for me, but I went back and looked at a lot of film,” Carroll said. “I looked at a lot of stuff, and I still think I could have played better, especially at the beginning of the season. I think I got off slow and got my rhythm at the end of the season. That’s when I was playing some of my better basketball.
“I think if I can take the last part of last season and play that way all the way through, I will have an even better season.”
Carroll will hit the open market a year too early. The NBA’s new TV deal, worth a reported $2.7 billion, starts for the 2016-17 season. It’s one of the reasons LeBron James signed a two-year deal to return to the Cavaliers this summer. There likely will be a windfall for players upon the new deal.
Currently, the league projects the salary cap to rise to $66.5 million next season in the final year of the $930 million contract. There is speculation that the cap could rise to $80 million with the new deal.
Carroll, who may consider signing a short-term deal next summer, insists he is concentrating only on the coming season.
“I haven’t really even thought about it,” Carroll said. “I’m just trying to build on last year. … I’m going to do what I do. Be the Junkyard Dog. Stay true to myself. Try to help this team grow, and the rest will take care of itself.”
Carroll averaged 11.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 32.1 minutes last season as he found a home in Atlanta. As the Hawks’ top wing defender Carroll, most often drew the assignment of guarding the opposition’s top non-big scorer.
The Hawks signed Carroll to a two-year deal after he spent his first four seasons with four different teams after he was a first-round pick out of Missouri in 2009. He blossomed in the system of coach Mike Budenholzer. He scored in double-figures 44 times, including four 20-point games. He led the team in rebounding 12 times and had three double-doubles.
Carroll figures to get help on defense with the offseason additions of Thabo Sefolosha and Kent Bazemore on the wing.
Even after the breakout season, Carroll left for the summer with instructions from Budenholzer to take his game to yet another level.
“We really wanted to challenge DeMarre from his mental approach,” Budenholzer said. “There is a way to approach each day — the practice in the morning or shoot-around the day of the game as preparation for games, taking care of his body and being more disciplined in that and more disciplined in how he plays. He is just incredibly competitive and incredibly energetic, and at times he can go off and do it a little bit on his own. He has the best of intentions, but the results aren’t always what we are looking for. That was probably the biggest challenge was for him to be more disciplined in everything that he does and how he approaches and prepares for games.”
What has the progress been through training camp and the first part of the exhibition season?
“I’ve seen it at times, and I’ve also seen at times where he’s not where we need him to be,” Budenholzer said.
Carroll said he wants to get off to faster starts in games to establish a flow. He said look for him to be a more vocal leader this season.
There is more to be done.
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