Raptors coach: DeMarre Carroll got injured because he switched shoes

There are some people who will tell you it doesn't matter what you wear on your feet when you're playing basketball. To those people, we offer up the following cautionary tale.

Toronto Raptors wing DeMarre Carroll had missed three games with plantar fasciitis in his right foot before returning on Friday night in Toronto's win over the New Orleans Pelicans. That kind of foot discomfort is a nasty injury that can linger, and the source of the pain isn't always readily apparent. But according to Raptors coach Dwane Casey, Carroll's injury came as a result of a shoe change after training camp (via SportsNet):

We don't know for certain that Carroll's injury was in fact caused by the change in footwear. Though coincidentally, Carroll signed a contract with adidas before the season started, after his Nike contract expired (via SLAM Online, as pointed out by Reddit user tkfu):

Yet Carroll told reporters he didn't tell the staff about his pain (maybe in the hopes that no one would notice the injury?):

It took the convincing of the coaching and training staffs, along with Carroll's agent, to put together a plan for Carroll to take a week off before returning. He's back, for now. No word on whether he changed his shoes, though.

(h/t Reddit)