After being offered to the Golden State Warriors in a sign-and-trade for Jonathan Kuminga this offseason, Devin Carter's NBA future is at the crossroads and with little sign of recovering anytime soon.
The recent first-round pick is clearly unwanted by the Sacramento Kings, and even more so after Golden State's pacific rival chose to further fortify their guard rotation by signing former MVP Russell Westbrook earlier this week.
The Kings haven't been able to find a trade for Devin Carter
It appears the Kings, Warriors and many other NBA teams have little interest in Carter, with NBA insider Jake Fischer reporting on Sacramento's inability to move the 23-year-old during a piece for The Stein Line on Saturday.
"Devin Carter's days with the franchise appear to be dwindling. He might have been the 13th overall pick out of Providence as recently as the 2024 NBA Draft, but the front office leaders who made that selection (Monte McNair and Wes Wilcox) are no longer in Sacramento," Fischer said. "Sources say Carter's name has already featured in trade chatter throughout this offseason. Yet it could take awhile for an actual trade to materialize there."
The Kings waived Terence Davis on Friday to make room for Westbrook's acquisition, meaning Carter will remain with the franchise entering the season. Whether he's part of Doug Christie's rotation remains to be seen though, having averaged 5.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 37.5% shooting from the floor and 10.0% from 3-point range in his 15.1 minutes per game during preseason.
With former Warrior Dennis Schroder, Zach LaVine, Malik Monk, Keon Ellis and now Westbrook, there appears little room for Carter in the Kings rotation which will do little for his trade value despite making just $4.9 million this season.
Working in Carter's favor is the fact Sacramento just picked up his $5.2 million team option for next season, yet it's still a less than ideal position for someone who was a lottery pick just over a year ago.
The Kings initially offered Carter, Dario Saric and two second-round picks to the Warriors for Kuminga in a sign-and-trade. Golden State unsurprisingly laughed that off, and have since been vidicated given the lack of interest in Carter around the league.
Saric may now ironically play a considerable role for Sacramento at power forward after Keegan Murray's thumb injury, with the former Golden State big man averaging 9.7 points and 2.7 rebounds on an impressive 53.4% shooting from 3-point range during preseason.