Carroll acknowledges shaky Raptors tenure: 'I didn't play like I needed to'

Ahead of DeMarre Carroll's return to Toronto as a member of the Brooklyn Nets, the veteran swingman opened up about his tumultuous two seasons with the Raptors, acknowledging that things could've been different.

"At the end of the day, I wasn't all the way healthy," Carroll said before Friday's game, per Raptors Republic's Blake Murphy. "You can't look at that as excuses. I didn't play like I needed to play here in Toronto."

Carroll started all but eight of his 128 appearances in a Raptors jersey, including 30 postseason games, averaging 8.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per outing with 34.9 percent 3-point shooting. He also struggled through an injury to his right knee that caused him to miss most of the first season of his four-year, $60-million contract.

Carroll and a pair of 2018 draft picks were traded to the Nets on July 13 this year in what amounted to a salary dump. The 31-year-old caused a stir on his way out by claiming some teammates "didn't trust each other," leading Raptors president Masai Ujiri to dismiss the notion that there were major trust issues with last year's team.

"You gotta try to move on and grow from that," Carroll continued. "That's what I did: Tried to move on and grow. I didn't perform like I needed to here and sometimes you've gotta look in the mirror and say, 'You didn't do what you were supposed to.' And I'm okay with that."