At 13-17 and losers of 11 of their last 16 games, the Sacramento Kings are desperately searching for answers. Is it time for a rebuild? Or can this season be saved? And if so, who will be the one to help revitalize this downtrodden team?
Devin Carter will not save the Kings this year
After a rocky start to the season, the Kings have been mostly healthy to start the 2024-25 regular season. According to Spotrac, the Kings have the fifth-fewest dollars lost due to player injury.So, that means that we've seen what most of the players on the current roster can do.
We say "most" because there is one player we have not seen at all. If you hadn't already guessed it, that player is the 13th overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, Devin Carter.
Carter has missed the entirety of the 2024-25 season thus far as he works his way back from offseason shoulder injury. However, recent reporting suggests that the combo guard is nearing a return.
When Carter was first selected by the Kings, it was largely viewed as a steal. Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that Carter will be able to significantly change the trajectory of this team in the short term.
Not only does Carter need time to ramp up into playing shape after not playing full-speed basketball for the last six months or so, but he's also going to be entering his first season as a professional basketball player. That in and of itself comes with a massive learning curve.
To top things off, Carter's skillset – a guard who can defend the perimeter, offer some rim protection, space the floor, and attack off the catch – is very similar to that of Keon Ellis. And while Ellis has his pitfalls as a player (the kind that potentially drives head coach Mike Brown crazy), he is not the reason the Kings' season has gone the way it has.
What the Kings need is more wings/forwards that can play off-ball on offense while also defending at a high level. The team is at an abundance of guards like Carter.
Maybe if the team traded one of their guards to get a wing/forward that fits that description, then the Kings would have more of an immediate use for Carter. But as it stands, the promising prospect won't be the one to change the Kings' fate this season.