5 things DeMarre Carroll brings to the Houston Rockets

4. Veteran Leadership

Carroll is an 11-year veteran, so there’s not many situations he hasn’t been a part of during his time in the league. Carroll was a member of the 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks team that went 60-22, which was the best record in the Eastern Conference and the second-best record in the league.

Carroll has also been on lottery teams such as the 2017-18 Brooklyn Nets, who went 28-54. Possibly the most difficult situation Carroll has been a part of was this season with the Spurs, as he didn’t get any playing time despite being one of the Spurs’ main priorities during free agency this past offseason.

In spite of the understandably frustrating situation he’s had in San Antonio this season, we’ve not heard Carroll say anything negative about San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich or the organization. This essentially means he’s a consummate professional and will certainly not come to Houston with any demands or unreasonable expectations as it pertains to playing time.

All in all, Carroll provides veteran leadership to the Rockets, which should give him an adequate amount of playing time, considering how Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni has an affinity for his veterans. We’ve seen D’Antoni pass on young developmental players such as Chris Clemons and Isaiah Hartenstein, in favor of Thabo Sefolosha and even Tyson Chandler at times.

Carroll has been able to carve out a role on contending teams, in spite of not being a star player, which is exactly what he would be asked to do on the Rockets this season.

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