Carroll Re-Signed | Carroll Gallery | Carroll 2006-07 Season In Review

The Bobcats re-signed guard Matt Carroll, who became an unrestricted free agent on July 1, on Tuesday, July 17. The following is the transcript from Carroll's press conference after it was announced he would be staying in Charlotte:

(Opening statements)
Good afternoon everybody. This is a very exciting time for me right now. It’s difficult for me to put into words how excited I am to be back here in Charlotte for a lot of reasons. One being this is the organization that gave me an opportunity to find success in the NBA. This is where it happened for me and it has stayed with me over the last couple of years. When it came down to being a free agent and looking for places to go, there was no question in my mind that this is where I wanted to go. Like I said, it’s hard to describe how excited I am to be back here.

(On the Bobcats acquiring Jason Richardson)
I was kind of surprised to be honest. At the time, I didn’t know what to think because I didn’t hear anything about it. When it did happen, I was thinking that maybe it was not going to work out for me. I didn’t know what was going to happen really, but I think that’s true in a lot of situations. After looking at it and now that it has worked out, I think it’s going to be awesome. Now that I’m a part of it officially, especially with everybody that we brought back and added to the roster, I’m really excited.

(On if he had serious contract talks with any other teams)
Yeah, we had a few other opportunities that we were pursuing. All along, my number one thing was to get a long-term contract. If we could have gotten the amount of years that we were looking for from Charlotte, there was no question in my mind that I was going to come back.

(On if he believed that getting a six-year deal was possible going into the offseason)
I had hoped so, and that was the goal. But you never really know until it happens.

(On if he has started looking at houses yet)
Not yet, I haven’t even begun to think about anything like that. For me, it happened so suddenly. I actually found out on a plane going to China. In some sense, it has been a bit overwhelming because it happened so fast. I was on the plane and I couldn’t even tell anybody that it was probably going to happen. Once we got back, it was a lot of fun to make all the calls to tell everybody and finally get a chance to come back here and do the signing.

(On why loyalty was a big part of his decision to re-sign with the Bobcats)
I pride myself in who I am with loyalty because that means a lot to me. That is how I was brought up. Being that this is the place that I got my first opportunity, I think that Charlotte and this organization have been very loyal to me. In some sense, I’d like to give that back if I could. If there was an opportunity that was close to this or better, this is where I was going to go. You don’t find it much in professional sports, but the people in this organization are very loyal people. Starting from the head position with Mr. (Bob) Johnson on down to Bernie (Bickerstaff) and Michael (Jordan) and everybody else, it’s hard to find that nowadays.

(On if there was anything else about the city of Charlotte that led him to re-sign)
The fans have been great with my situation. I feel like they have welcomed me in here since the first day I was here. I can remember my first game back at the old Coliseum, we were playing against the Lakers. That was my first chance to come in and I hit a couple of shots, and the fans were yelling at me to keep shooting, and it gave me confidence. I fed off of that, and it has carried over through my whole career here, especially last season. Everybody from older people to younger fans and kids were supporting me. Especially seeing kids out there supporting me makes me feel like what I was doing was appreciated, and it was pretty exciting.

(On his transition from the D-League to signing a long-term NBA contract)
Every kid dreams of playing in the NBA. For me, it has been a dream that has happened in small steps. I started by going to college, then I went back and forth from the minor leagues to the NBA, but I kept believing that eventually it would happen. I kind of took the less traveled route to get to the NBA and get some stability, but it finally happened.

(On if he ever had any doubts about getting to the NBA while he was in the D-League)
When you’re traveling through the night on a bus for eight hours after a game, you have a lot of things that go through your head, but I never had any doubts that this is what I wanted to do. I was willing to pay the price no matter how long it took.

(On the impact of the NBA overseas)
To see how popular the NBA is across the world is unbelievable. I think everybody knows that it is becoming a global sport; but to be in China and see the popularity of the NBA, seeing NBA jerseys throughout the streets of Shanghai and seeing how people look up to you over there is pretty amazing to me. As a kid growing up in the states, you know they play basketball everywhere, but when you see kids from India, Korea and China doing the same things that you are doing here, it is pretty eye-opening.

(On what he did overseas)
We put on a camp for the top 50 players in the Asia-Pacific area. The kids were 17 years old, and they were from everywhere. At first I thought it was going to be real difficult to talk to them and explain techniques. I had the shooting station and I didn’t know how I was going to teach them about shooting if I couldn’t talk to them. Fortunately, there were translators and basketball is a pretty universal language. To be out there demonstrating things with other NBA players was pretty amazing. We did the camps all day and at night, we did a lot of different community things. We did some things with HIV and AIDS and we went to a couple of migrant schools. The NBA donated a lot of different things to less fortunate people over there. To be there with Yao Ming was pretty neat. He is as big as it gets over there – both ways. He is a great person and a great human being and what he is giving back to that country is pretty amazing. We had some fun too – it was pretty neat.

(On what role he expects to have with the Bobcats)
It’s hard to say right now. I think my role here has changed throughout the years and seasons, but for me it doesn’t really matter anymore. For me now, I’m just going to do whatever is asked of me. I know what my strengths are and I know the coaches and everybody in this organization knows what I can do. Our goal now is to win games, and that’s what it’s all about. Gerald (Wallace) has his new contract and now it’s exciting because it’s all about winning games.

(On if he believes the Bobcats are a playoff contender)
I do. I think we’re putting the pieces together to be one of the best teams in the East.

(On proving himself to new head coach Sam Vincent)
In college, I was recruited by John MacLeod, played for Matt Doherty for a year, played for Mike Brey for a year and played on several teams at the NBA and minor league level, so I’ve had to prove myself a few times in my career. I’m sure a lot of other players have too, but I think now we’re all in the same boat. We’re all out there competing, but at the same time, we’re working together. We have to impress the coach and try to get our minutes on the floor, but I think that will just happen. I think our talents will rise up to that opportunity, and we will take it from there.

(On if he has spoken to Sam Vincent)
I have not. I called him today, but I got his voicemail, so hopefully I’ll connect with him soon.

(On if there is less pressure on him now that he has a long-term deal)
I think pressure is what you make of it. I think you always have pressure because our job is to perform out there. The confidence that Michael (Jordan) has shown in me and the fact that he outwardly said that he wanted me back here to be a part of this has been great. Any interaction that I have had with Michael has done nothing but give me confidence. From the beginning of the year when he talked to me one on one and tried to motivate me and found ways to get me playing at a higher level has given me a lot of confidence. Having the best player of all time in my corner has been great.

(On what the security of his new deal means to him)
It’s a pretty good feeling. But to be honest, it’s still a little overwhelming. It really hasn’t set in because everything has happened so fast. I just got back from China so I haven’t really thought much about it. I’m just excited to be back in Charlotte and I know I’m going to be here for a while.