DeMarre Carroll was recruited to Celtics by Pierce and KG
If Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett need any proof that they can be solid general managers, they can point to their recruitment of Atlanta Hawks player DeMarre Carroll as the forward says the two veterans heavily recruited him during their days with the Boston Celtics.
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"That’s when KG and Paul Pierce tried to get Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge to bring me in because they thought I could replace Tony Allen, who signed with the Grizzlies the summer before.The Celtics got with my agent, Mark Bartelstein, but that didn’t work out. To this day, Paul Pierce always tells Danny, “I told you DeMarre was going to be good.”"
Considering how Carroll struggled early in his career with the Memphis Grizzlies, it’s easy to see how Danny Ainge chose to bypass the signing. But in his time with the Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks, Carroll made several progressions as a player on both ends, improving from behind the arch and on the defensive end.
On paper, Carroll would’ve been the perfect candidate to replace Tony Allen and play alongside the ‘Big 3’ plus Rajon Rondo.
Now the Atlanta Hawks are savoring in having an up-and-coming 3-and-D player on the roster. Carroll is far from perfect, but it’s safe to say that the Boston Celtics missed with this one.