On Tuesday, with the Nets trading point guard Marcus Williams, the chances for Carroll sticking may have gotten better.

The Nets sent Williams to the Golden State Warriors for a conditional first round draft pick. With the swap, New Jersey has just two point guards on its roster - Devin Harris and Keyon Dooling.

Nets General Manager Rod Thorn confirmed that the organization is indeed in the market for a third point guard. Thorn also all but confirmed that Carroll would receive an invite to New Jersey's veteran camp.

"We do want that third guard," Thorn said on Tuesday night. "Who it will be, I can't say. But we want somebody who's going to come in and play good defense, make shots, and be a great teammate."

With the trade of Williams, the Nets still have 15 guaranteed contracts, which is the NBA maximum. But Thorn said that may not be an issue after all.

"We have 15 contracts now," Thorn said. "But we don't expect to have 15 when September rolls around."

All of which bodes well for Carroll, the former Utah State star who has played with the Nets summer league team for the past month.

Carroll scored a team-high 22 points in 30 minutes Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz, and looked like an NBA player running the team. He scored 11 points in the first half, including a three-point play after stripping Utah's Leemire Goldwire at midcourt.

"He did a lot of things that we liked out here tonight," Thorn said. "He has to prove that he can handle NBA pressure. When [Jazz point guard] Earl Calloway came into the game, he applied NBA pressure on him. And he handled it."

For his part, Carroll's said he's just going to go out and play.

He said he knows that the world of the NBA is fleeting, and he knows that nothing is in his control except for the way he performs on a nightly basis.

"With the way that everything happens, you just never know," Carroll said. "Marcus being traded is a reality check. It just shows how fast things can change in the league."

tjones@sltrib.com