Carroll is also more versatile than those other guys, as he can not only guard wings but also play the 4 in small-ball lineups. He's also better moving off the ball, cutting and finding open creases for easy baskets. He doesn't create shots off the dribble, but he does everything else well.
Don't get me wrong, I think Carroll is better than the players mentioned. The problem is, he's getting paid about the same as all the other guys we discussed (the three of them) combined. I agree, though, that the Raptors aren't an attractive destination, so cap space isn't as big of an asset for them as it could potentially be for teams like LAL and NYK.
Your argument is that you can take any athlete in the second round and turn him into a 3-and-D wing
That's an exaggeration. I'm not saying everybody can be a 3-and-D wing; just that it's not THAT hard to find one, and that it's the easiest piece of the puzzle to find.
It's simply not that easy to identify and develop those players. If it were, why would the Spurs pay Danny Green $11 mil per year (a major hometown discount) instead of plugging an athletic rookie into the starting lineup? Why did Houston--with a front office that's been as successful as anyone at identifying second round steals--pay Ariza $8 mil per year when any decent athlete can be a legitimate 3-and-D wing on a good team?
The Spurs are paying Danny Green big money because they already have guys like Parker, Duncan, and Aldridge in place. If they were starting over with just Kawhi, I highly doubt they would have signed Green to a 15M a year deal like Carroll got. They might have paid half, and I'm not even sure they'd be interested. Green and Ariza are similar in that they are the last piece of the puzzle. The Rockets wouldn't have signed Ariza had they not had Harden and Howard already in place. They just needed one more guy, and they epicly butchered the Parsons situation.
Carroll isn't the last piece of the puzzle, but as you've somewhat alluded to, the Raptors aren't playing for a ring. Just being respectable is a worthy accomplishment for that organization.
Trevor Ariza isn't worth paying the big bucks, and most teams have come to that realization. Ariza was a nobody when the Lakers acquired him, and he quickly developed into a complementary role beside guys like Kobe, Gasol, Bynum, and Odom. When FA came around, despite being considered a key part of the Lakers' title run, the Lakers didn't even think about keeping him around. He bounced around to a few other teams, and then made big waves with the Wizards in a playoff run beside guys like Wall and Beal. When FA came around, did the Wizards keep him around? Nope. He signed a big deal with the Rockets, and a year later...guess what? He's back on the trade block! The Ariza deal was a knee-jerk reaction to save face after losing out on Bosh and Parsons.
As bad as the Lakers have been these last two years, we've had a 3-and-D guy. His name is Wesley Johnson, and he signed for the minimum. He's a solid defender, has shot over 35% from 3 the last two years, and if you wanted him to, he has the length to play the small-ball 4 (Byron Scott is too old school to do that, though). Put Johnson on that Laker team we discussed, or in Danny Green's place on the Spurs, and you'll have a guy making the big bucks instead of 1M a year.
