This year has been far from the ideal rookie season for Devin Carter. To be fair, it was always going to be an uphill battle after offseason shoulder surgery sidelined him for the entirety of the offseason and the first two months of the regular season. From there, he has been in and out of the lineup, trying to find his footing on a team that is also trying to clinch their second playoff berth in three seasons.
Recently, though, Carter has been able to carve out a consistent role in the rotation. Part of this is due to injuries, but a lot of this is a byproduct of his growth as a player. Carter has appeared in 15 of the team's last 18 games, and the only reason he missed those three games was because he was dealing with an illness and then a shoulder injury (fortunately not to the one that surgically repaired in the summer).
To be able to go from not getting any minutes to getting to play every night is an impressive midseason feat, especially for a rookie. And recently, Carter revealed what experience helped key this improvement.
Sending Carter down to the G-League proved to be quite helpful
In February, while Carter was logging DNP-CDs, the Sacramento Kings made the decision to assign him to their G-League affiliate, the Stockton Kings. In a recent interview with RG's Spencer Davies, Carter opened up on how transformative that stint was for him.
“I think the second stint I did with the G League was really helpful because I played [three] games consistently while getting consistent run,” Carter told Davies. “I think those games were very helpful for when I came back to the main squad...It was just a confidence thing. Just not having really touched the ball consistently for nine months, so just getting back into a flow of things. Figuring out my spacing on the court, figuring out what angles to take. Just all the little things that I don’t get to see every day since I wasn’t doing it."
Along with serving as proof of concept that the G-League is a useful tool for player development, this quote illustrates how important giving young players repetitions with the ball in their hands can be to the growth of their overall game. Even if they are expected to be more of a role player, getting to play with the ball in your hands in short spurts enhances your skill and overall feel for the game.
Admittedly, Carter's individual counting stats won't blow you away. However, he is flashing the potential you want to see from your rookie players. A perfect example of this can be seen in his signature performance of the season in a March win against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In that game, Carter tallied 16 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals in just under 31 minutes of action. The Kings were a +7 in his minutes in a game that they ended up winning by only four points.
Moving forward, the Kings will need Carter to continue growing on the fly, especially after finding out that Malik Monk will likely miss the rest of the regular season and the Play-In Tournament.