Boston Celtics: 5 realistic free agent wings Cs should consider
By Ian Riaf
Potential Boston Celtics target No. 3) DeMarre Carroll
Compared to other players on this list, DeMarre Carroll would give the Boston Celtics the most versatility on defense and enough floor spacing to justify a midseason signing.
Cs fans may also remember him for a run-in with Isaiah Thomas, but I’ve always admired Carroll for his ability to lean into the low-usage, two-way wing role. At 34 and a half years old, Carroll has a lot of experience under his belt and started alongside Jeff Teague on that underrated regular season Atlanta Hawks team.
Similar to Crabbe, Carroll struggled last season to find minutes on a fairly crowded wing rotation in San Antonio. After getting traded to the Houston Rockets, Carroll only saw 105 minutes of non-garbage time play but spent some time as their small-ball five, a concept the Celtics have yet to explore thus far.
Yes, last season looked bad on paper for Carroll, but the season before was a much different story.
He gave his all, playing 25 minutes per game on an overachieving Brooklyn Nets team that actually made the playoffs without any real NBA stars. Yes, the veteran wing may be seen as redundant next to Ojeleye and Grant Williams, but these are the type of players you want to have an excess of heading into the playoffs in this day and age.
What if Ojeleye or Williams goes down with a season-ending injury? The Celtics would greatly appreciate some insurance in the form of DeMarre Carroll.
The veteran, as of late, hasn’t been a lights-out shooter. In fact, during the past three seasons, he’s hovered around league average from beyond the arc.
He did, however, has two terrific shooting seasons five years ago with both the Hawks and Raptors. Perhaps that isn’t enough to justify him as a ‘floor spacer,’ but Carroll is a low usage, versatile playoff-tested veteran who could provide more floor spacing at the wing spot than, say, a Javonte Green or Romeo Langford.