He’s got a much fatter contract and a larger projected role than ever before, but don’t expect DeMarre Carroll to try to become something he is not.

Toronto’s new starting small forward intends to make his mark and move the team forward by doing what he does best — getting tight on opponents and making life miserable for them.

“I’m going to come in first and foremost and focus on defence,” Carroll told the Toronto Sun in a recent phone interview. “I think defence is the most value I’m going to bring to the team so if I come in focussed on defence and let my offence take care of itself, then I’ll be good.

“I just don’t want to come in first mainly thinking about offence, because that’s not who I am.”

So, just who is the 6-foot-8 University of Missouri product, a native of Birmingham, Ala.?

“Who I am is a defensive guy who is going to bring defence with my energy and go out there and basically show (teammates), and lead by example,” Carroll said.

“Not necessarily talk, but lead my example. If I can do that first, everything else will take care of itself.”

Carroll called Raptors fans “the best thing about Toronto” and said he was eager for them to get to know him.

“I think it’s just a great opportunity for me to go out there and be the guy who I am, that’s a junkyard dog, blue collar-type player and bring some excitement to the team,” he said.

And if emerging as a big scorer on a team that is expected to feature a balanced attack also becomes part of Carroll’s playing identity, then, so be it.

But he knows that won’t be what Dwane Casey and his staff will primarily ask of him.

Nearly half of Toronto’s roster has been turned over, but Carroll believes the new-look squad will gel quickly and build off of consecutive Atlantic Division titles.

“Just from me being around (new teammates like DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas) in Vegas, just understanding, getting a feel for the guys. We have a young team, but at the same time, I think guys like each other, they get along well with each other,” Carroll said.

“It’s not one of those divided teams where one guy might show up late or you won’t hang out. Hopefully, it comes quick. Teams come quicker together when you feel and you smell success, so hopefully we’ll start feeling success and it will just bring us together even more.”

In order to win big, the Raptors will have to punch above their collective weight. Most elite NBA teams are filled with top-five draft picks, but Valanciunas (fifth overall in 2011) is Toronto’s only player with such a pedigree (DeRozan was picked ninth in 2009.

Carroll, Lowry and backup point guard Cory Joseph were taken 24th or later in their respective drafts and have had to work harder to develop and eventually prove themselves.

Having to scratch and claw more than more heralded prospects isn’t the worst thing in the world, according to Carroll, and teams can thrive with players of that ilk as well.

“You always play with a chip on your shoulder when you’re not selected very high in the draft,” Carroll said.

“I’ve been playing with a chip on my shoulder since I was in middle school. That’s no problem with me, playing with a chip on my shoulder. I’ve just relished the opportunity. I’ve had a great opportunity to do something successful so I’m just trying to not let it pass me by. The biggest thing for me is going out there and taking advantage of my opportunity.”

CARROLL FEELS DEROZAN TAKING RIGHT ROUTE

DeMarre Carroll can give you $60 million reasons why he’s happy he became a feared outside shooter.

That’s how much money Carroll was given by the Raptors this summer as a prized free-agent signing.

While much of his value comes from what he can do defensively better than most other players, without becoming a long-distance threat, Carroll likely would have continued bouncing around the NBA, trying to become a regular. He played sparingly for Memphis, Houston, Denver and then Utah before finding a home in Atlanta.

The Hawks flourished by becoming a squad that tried to generate as many good looks from three-point range as possible. Only four teams averaged more than Atlanta’s 10 makes per game last season and only eventual champion Golden State bested the team’s 38% accuracy from deep. And Carroll became a crucial cog in that potent offence, leading the Hawks in scoring during the NBA playoffs.

Carroll hit 27 three-pointers over his first four seasons before sinking 97 and then 120 as a member of the Hawks.

So, there’s no doubt he knows first-hand how much becoming a good three-point shooter can help any player’s game.

That’s why he has watched with interest as star Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan looked to incorporate more three-pointers into his game this summer at the Drew League in Los Angeles.

DeRozan showed off increased range and has said he is feeling far more confident from outside.

Carroll would love to see that confidence carry over into the season.

“He just (needs to) continue to keep working on it,” Carroll told the Toronto Sun recently.

“(NBA three-point leader) Kyle Korver told me the three-point shot is just more repetition. The more you shoot it, the better you’ll get at it. I feel like if DeMar will keep working on it, it will eventually come,” Carroll said.

DeRozan attempted about half as many threes last season as he had the year before, but came on late, hitting 34.8% of his attempts in the second half versus just 21% earlier on).

“I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of other things he worked on in his game and he’s a dominant offensive player (already),” Carroll said. “So I think if he adds that three-point to his game it’ll take us over the top.”

If DeRozan does stretch some of his mid-range jumpers behind the arc, and if Toronto starts Patrick Patterson up front, as expected, that will give the club four viable three-point shooters in the top five (plus Jonas Valanciunas has been working on his range and intends to shoot more jumpers — though not three-pointers — in his fourth campaign). That would work well for Carroll.

“You’ve seen with Atlanta that really opens up the floor. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan can be more effective because the floor is so spread out. Everybody on the court can punish you from three-point range,” he said.

SUMMER OVER FOR NEW RAPTOR

DeMarre Carroll’s summer has been so jam-packed that he hasn’t even realized how quickly time was going by.

“It’s almost over,” Carroll said with a laugh recently, as if that fact was just setting in.

Since his final season in Atlanta ended on a disheartening note — with the Hawks falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers in part because a hobbled Carroll was nowhere close to full strength — the swingman signed a lucrative deal with the Raptors, traveled to places as far off as China to promote the NBA Global Games, did work with his foundation which focuses on liver disease and worked to get himself all the way back from an assortment of nagging injuries.

Meanwhile, his wife has helped find a place to live in Toronto, a city he is looking forward to seeing more of.

“There were lots of things going on, but at the same time I’m pretty excited for the season,” Carroll said.

“I’m getting to Toronto the first or second week of September so I can get an early start. I always want to be in great shape. That’s my goal,” he said.