DEAL IS DONE: Nets acquire Carroll, two picks in 2018 Draft

Four days after it was first reported, the Nets and Raptors concluded a deal that will bring DeMarre Carroll and two picks in the 2018 Draft —Toronto’s lottery protected first rounder and the least favorable of the Lakers and Magic’s second rounders.

In return, the Nets gave up Justin Hamilton, a 6’10” back-up center who’s $3 million contracts is expiring. The Raptors are expected to waive and stretch Hamilton’s deal.

The Nets announced the trade via Twitter shortly before 2 p.m. on Thursday.

The trade was agreed to early Sunday morning after the Wizards matched on the Nets bid for Otto Porter hours before. Because Washington chose to use obscure CBA rules on physical exams, the deal could not be finalized until Thursday.

Until the deal was completed, Nets did not have a pick in either round of the draft next summer. The lottery protection on the first round pick is expected to be meaningless in that the Raptors are projected to finish in the top three of four seeds in the East. Should the rebuilding Pacers fail to make the playoffs next season, the Nets would also get their second rounder.

The Nets now have an estimated $16.5 million in cap space, most in the NBA, to complete other deals if they choose. They can also add to it by not exercising team options on several players.

Although Sean Marks and Toronto GM Masai Ujiri were seen talking last Saturday night at the Las Vegas Summer League, the deal apparently been in the works for more than a week prior to that. On July 1, Woj was on ESPN’s Free Agency Special, talking about a salary dump between the Nets and Raptors...

“The other thing Toronto is trying to do is get salary off. DeMarre Carroll is a player Toronto has talked to several teams and teams who have (cap space). We talked earlier about Phoenix being in a position to take on a contracts like Carroll's and maybe try to get an asset with it.

Brooklyn remains in that space. They did it with Mozgov. That's Brooklyn's way to get draft picks, to try to get young players is to take on contract but Carroll's contract is big and Toronto doesn't have great draft assets, especially if theyre going to bring everybody back and want to be good. What's a pick in the mid-20's or in the late 20's to take on that money. So those are all things that teams are weighing.”

The additional assets Marks squeezed out of Ujiri were the second rounder and the added cap space provided by the inclusion of Hamilton. When you subtract Hamilton’s $3 million salary next year from Carroll’s $14.8 million, the net cost to Brooklyn is $11.8 million.

The Nets of course had already played this game with the Lakers, taking on Timofey Mozgov’s contract, with its $48 million still owed, to acquire D’Angelo Russell. He was the price L.A. had to pay for its past profligacy. Brook Lopez’s expiring deal went to Los Angeles in that exchange as well. Overall, since last February’s trade deadline, the Nets have taken on $98.1 million in salary dumps to acquire Russell and picks. In addition to the $48 million for Mozgov, they still have $19.9 million on the books for Andrew Nicholson, key to getting a pick in the 2017 draft, and now $30.2 million for Carroll.

Carroll averaged 8.9 points, grabbed 3.8 rebounds and shot 34.1 percent from three in 72 games, all starts, last season. The 30-year-old will have a chance to become the Nets' starting small forward and will fill the veteran’s role on a young team. Kenny Atkinson coached Carroll as an assistant with the Hawks and holds a “strong affinity” for him, Woj reported. Carroll has had nagging injuries over the last two seasons since signing in Toronto. He also criticized the Raptors offense earlier in the week, claiming several players were left out when the team’s stars went ISO.

In 414 career games (258 starts) split between Memphis, Houston, Denver, Utah, Atlanta and Toronto, the eight-year veteran has recorded averages of 8.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 steals in 22.9 minutes per game. Carroll has also appeared in the postseason in five of the last six seasons, including each of the last four, and owns career playoff averages of 9.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 28.6 minutes per contest.

• Nets officially acquire DeMarre Carroll, draft picks from Raptors - Greg Logan - Newsday