The Atlanta Hawks have needed DeMarre Carroll during the playoffs and heading into the offseason Carroll should be a main target along with Greg Monroe, Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge on the free agent market and teams like the LA Lakers, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls are potential landing spots for the forward, as he is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Carroll has played very well for the Hawks this season and he has established himself as one of the better up and coming players in the league. According to Sean Deveney of Sporting News, Carroll is expected to be one of the top targets for the Lakers, as the team is projected to have over $25 million in cap space to spend this summer. Deveney writes that Carroll could command up to $15 million per season and that could push the Hawks out of the running.
Deveney writes that the Lakers, Celtics and Pistons have interest in Carroll and are the main targets for him over the Hawks. The Celtics and the Lakers along with the Knicks are expected to spend big, as they all have a large amount of cap space this summer with numerous players coming off the books. Carroll is making $2,442,455 this season and he will be an unrestricted free agent and is expected to get a major raise after the way he has played. Carroll averaged a career best 12 points and five rebounds per game this season.
Carroll looked like he was seriously injured early in the Cavaliers series after suffering a knee injury, but he was able to come back and play for the Hawks. Carroll was a key player this season and the Hawks would like to retain him, but if the offers get too high they may let him go. The Hawks had a very successful season by finishing first in the conference, but that run will end after the team went down 3-0 against the Cavaliers in the NBA playoffs.
The knee injury could scare some teams even if it wasn't serious, but Carroll has the potential to get strong offers this summer. Carroll could end up being pursued by a number of top teams if free agents like Marc Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge or Goran Dragic stay with their current teams. The Lakers, Knicks and Celtics all have money to spend and they will be going after those players and that could mean the market for players like Carroll heats up over the summer.
Love could end up as a top free agent on the market, but he has an opt out and there is no guarantee he will use it. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Cavaliers are worried and have a "legitimate fear" about Love using his opt out this summer. Adrian Wojnarowski was on the Dan Patrick Show and the Yahoo Sports writer said that Love will "look at free agency, I think he's going to look at other teams". While Love could opt in, until he does it the Cavaliers will worry about the possibility that he won't. Monroe is expected to be a top target for the Lakers if Love is not available on the market.
Check here for more on Carroll, Monroe and potential free agent interest.
