Milwaukee Bucks Rumors: DeMarre Carroll held Bucks talks before Spurs deal
By Adam McGee
The Milwaukee Bucks reportedly spoke to veteran wing DeMarre Carroll before he agreed to a three-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs.
The Milwaukee Bucks may yet add Kyle Korver to their roster (depending on how he decides to resolve his free agency), setting up a reunion for Coach Mike Budenholzer with one of the key cogs of his 60-win, Atlanta Hawks squad from 2015.
A recent report suggests Korver isn’t the only player from that team who the Bucks may have tried to acquire this summer, though.
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According to a report from Jabari Young of The Athletic, DeMarre Carroll spoke to the Bucks and Coach Bud, prior to agreeing to what ultimately became a three-year, $21 million deal with the San Antonio Spurs which was completed via sign-and-trade.
Carroll had embraced a reduced, veteran’s role off the bench with the Nets last season, and in all likelihood the Bucks had sought him out just in case he was willing to accept a deal such as the one which Wesley Matthews agreed to with Milwaukee.
Per Young’s report, the Bucks’ inability to offer a significant deal due to their cap situation meant an agreement with Milwaukee was effectively a non-starter. Although it didn’t stop a conversation between both sides taking place.
"“Though the Nets were out of the picture, Carroll also had a relationship with former Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer from their days with the Atlanta Hawks. Budenholzer wanted Carroll to join him with the Milwaukee Bucks, but after observing their cap situation, Carroll found there was too far a gap in money to reunite the pair, league sources told The Athletic.”"
Having spent the past two seasons in Brooklyn playing under Kenny Atkinson, a former Bud disciple and an assistant coach on that same 2015 Atlanta squad, and with a front office run by Sean Marks, who played under Budenholzer during his time as an assistant in San Antonio, Carroll’s recent basketball experience has very much been entrenched in the ideals and philosophies that Milwaukee’s head coach holds dear.
In the end, Young reports that Budenholzer joined Marks in encouraging Carroll to join the Spurs, once it had become clear that the wing was outside of Milwaukee’s price range.
"“Carroll also had a conversation with Budenholzer about the Spurs that further solidified his decision.”"
As much as a deal may not have ultimately worked out with Carroll, it may still prove instructive in considering what the Bucks may be looking for with their two remaining roster spots.
A hard-nosed defensive wing who can also shoot and add veteran leadership is tough to come by at the veteran minimum, which is evident from Carroll’s much more lucrative pay day elsewhere.
Next. Milwaukee Bucks: Analyzing the depth chart as it stands. dark
By the same token, Milwaukee’s roster is currently a little thin at the small forward spot, and they may well continue to sniff around the margins of free agency for another player in that ilk in the days and weeks ahead.