One veteran forward could soon be adding his name to the buyout market.
Speaking with Tom Osborn of the San Antonio Express-News this week, DeMarre Carroll of the San Antonio Spurs spoke about his tenure with the team as already being over amid an extended absence from the rotation.
“Another opportunity will come for me,” said Carroll. “San Antonio, I don’t know where [it went wrong], what happened, what the hiccup was. But, at the end of the day, I am totally healthy. I work out every day, twice a day. When that opportunity comes, I will be ready to take advantage of it.
“Coach [Gregg] Pop[ovich] is a great individual to me,” Carroll continued. “Outside of basketball, we talk about family, all kinds of stuff. But with the basketball thing, we just didn’t jell.”
The 33-year-old Carroll, who has made just 15 appearances all season and hasn’t played since early January, also discussed the possibility of a buyout.
“[My agent] is handling that,” Carroll said. “Him and [Spurs general manager] Brian [Wright] and all of them. I don’t know what direction we are going to go. But at the end of the day, at 33, I don’t want to waste my talents just sitting at the end of the bench, knowing I could help a team produce.”
Carroll, a 3-and-D type who averaged 11.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for the Brooklyn Nets last year, might indeed still offer value to a contender. He signed a three-year, $21 million deal with the Spurs this past summer though, making a buyout a little more difficult to accomplish.
Moreover, Carroll complained about his fit on another past team as well, so there may only be a very specific market for him in any case.
