When the Sacramento Kings drafted Devin Carter with the 13th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, analysts immediately called it a steal (even comparing him to the great Derrick White).
And so far, Carter has lived up to the expectations fans have had for him. After missing the first few months of the season while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, Carter has been balling out in the G-League for the Stockton Kings.
In four G-League games, Carter is averaging 27.3 PPG, 10 RPG, and 5 APG on 67.8% true shooting, looking absolutely dominant any time he is on the floor.
Devin Carter had himself a day! The @SacramentoKings draftee recorded a career-high in scoring and is now averaging 27.25 PPG and 10 RPG during the regular season. pic.twitter.com/gSXML490u4
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) February 26, 2025
What is the problem?
Most of you probably read the stat line above and wondered to yourself, "How is this a problem?"
Well, while the G-League is a different level of basketball than the NBA, Carter has clearly demonstrated that he is ready to be a fixture in an NBA roster. And considering he's the youngest player on the roster, the Kings should want to give him the opportunity to learn and develop on the court.
Unfortunately, after playing fairly consistent minutes in January, Carter has played less than ten total minutes in the eight games since Zach LaVine was traded to the team.
After making three trades in one week during the trade deadline, the Kings lost two rotation-level players (De'Aaron Fox and Kevin Huerter) and added three new ones (LaVine, Jonas Valanciunas, and Jake LaRavia) in their place. That means that unless the Kings wanted to play a deeper rotation (something they haven't really done under head coach Doug Christie), they had to take minutes away from one player.
As of right now, that unlucky fellow has been Carter. But given how much potential he's flashed in the G-League, that needs to change. Besides, it's not like the Kings' new eight-man rotation has been playing out of this world. They are just 4-4 since LaVine joined the lineup.
Another wrinkle to the problem here is that Keon Ellis – one of the players ahead of Carter on the depth chart – is a very similar type of player to the rookie (a two-way combo guard). Ellis has been great for the Kings this year (creating another minutes conundrum for them). So, it is hard to justify taking minutes away from him. And given their overlapping skillsets, it would be difficult to craft lineups featuring both Ellis and Carter.
Maybe the Kings should look into trading Ellis this offseason. Maybe Christie needs to reshuffle the lineups and get creative with minutes. I'm not entirely sure. All I do know is that Carter needs some minutes.