After signing defensive specialist DeMarre Carroll to a four-year, $60 million contract, the Toronto Raptors are reportedly trying to acquire free agent Wesley Matthews next.

Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday that the Raptors and Carroll have agreed to the deal which will be certified on July 9 when official signings begin according to league rules.

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The six-year veteran had bounced off around the league for four different teams before finding his niche in Atlanta. The Hawks grabbed him from the Utah Jazz in 2013 for a bargain deal of $5 million for two years, as per ESPN. He was then proven perfect for coach Mike Budenholzer's system as Atlanta slowly climbed atop the NBA's Eastern Conference.  

The 2014-2015 season was his most successful offensive year so far as he averaged a career-high 12.6 points together with 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in his second season with the East-leading 60-22 Hawks. In 2013-2014, he had his career-best averages of 5.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.5 steals in a little over 32 minutes of playing time per night.

During the recent playoffs, Carroll was Atlanta's leading scorer and primary defender even against LeBron James during the Eastern Conference Finals. However, a minor left knee injury slowed him down after Game 1 of the series, which eventually led to the Hawks being swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

This is the former Missouri standout's biggest contract so far and reports said that he is excited to play for Toronto come October.

The Raptors are now reportedly targeting Portland's Wesley Matthews next on their bid to improve on their first round exit against the Washington Wizards last April.

SB Nation's Satchel Price indicated that Toronto head coach Dwayne Casey pitched to the 6-foot-5 three-point specialist that he will be starting at small forward while Carroll will slide at the no. 4 spot and mainstay DeMar DeRozan stays at shooting guard.

With Kyle Lowry at the point and Jonas Valanciunas manning the slot, the Raptors are ready to adapt to the new trend of employing smaller lineups in the NBA.

The idea seemed to have intrigued the 28-year-old but analysts were wondering how Toronto can afford Matthews now that they have already signed Carroll to such a big deal.

TagsNBA 2015, NBA news, NBA News 2015, NBA rumors, NBA Rumors 2015, NBA Trade Rumors, NBA trade rumors 2015, Toronto Raptors, DeMarre Carroll, Wesley Matthews