DeMarre Carroll, former star forward for the University of Missouri, is joining the Los Angeles Lakers as an assistant coach, as reported by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. This will be Carroll’s second coaching job, following his stint with the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2022-23 season under former head coach Mike Budenholzer.
Carroll, now 36 years old, will be reuniting with his former coach, Darvin Ham, who was hired as the Lakers’ head coach in June. During the 2013-14 season, Carroll played under Ham when he was an assistant coach to Budenholzer for the Atlanta Hawks.
In his playing career, Carroll was the 27th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft and played for a total of eight different teams over 11 years. Before his professional career, he spent two seasons playing for the Missouri Tigers after transferring from Vanderbilt. Carroll led Missouri to an Elite Eight appearance and earned first-team All-Big 12 honors during the 2008-09 season.
Carroll joins fellow former Missouri player D’Moi Hodge on the Lakers, who signed a two-way contract with the team after the NBA Draft in June.
In other news, former Missouri guards Dru Smith and D’Moi Hodge competed against each other in the NBA Summer League. Smith played for the Miami Heat and recorded 13 points and five assists in a 107-90 victory. Hodge, playing for the Lakers, scored seven points and recorded a steal in his first league action, which lasted nearly 18 minutes.
Additionally, the Los Angeles Clippers officially signed former Missouri forward Kobe Brown, who was selected as the 30th overall pick by the Clippers in the recent NBA Draft. Brown had a successful collegiate career at Missouri, and now he joins the Clippers as they begin their preparations for the upcoming season.
