The Kings had a confusing offseason. There were so many trade rumors surrounding Sacramento during the summer that it was hard to keep track of them. Even more confusing than the number of rumors was how few of them came to fruition.
A lot of the talk surrounded making room for Russell Westbrook. This was going to be accomplished by trading either Malik Monk or DeMar DeRozan. None of that ended up happening. Thankfully, neither did the speculation that Ben Simmons was coming to Sacramento.
Naturally, the potential of a trade with the Golden State Warriors for Jonathan Kuminga has dominated NBA news cycles for weeks. Devin Carter, not so much.
Devin Carter on the Kings
Yet another guard on the Sacramento roster, Carter has developed solid moves out of the pick-and-roll. Additionally, he has also put in a lot of work on improving his three-point shot. He still has a lot of work to do on his overall shot, though.
Where Carter excels is on defense. Like Keon Ellis, he provides a much-needed defensive presence through physicality and ball pressure. That is something the Kings will be focusing on heavily this season, according to head coach Doug Christie.
Also like Keon Ellis, the Kings seem to have a problem putting Carter to good use. This is a symptom of their larger problems with overall team imbalances and inconsistent focus on defense.
Trying to trade Carter
There were rumors during the offseason that the Kings were trying to trade Carter. In particular, it looked like they were working on a trade with the Denver Nuggets for Peyton Watson. Being that Carter is still on the Kings, that didn't work out.
While the Kings didn't succeed in trading Carter, they did implicitly let him know they aren't all in on him as part of the roster. For a young gun like Carter, that could be a confidence killer.
Getting traded is part of the game, but it's hard to play for a team you know doesn't want you. On the Kings, several players, including Monk, DeRozan, and Carter, are in that boat.
With a team option coming up in 2026-2027 for Carter, it will be interesting to see where this goes. This is his first full training camp with the Kings, and he has big goals for this season. A positive attitude combined with bold aspirations might be a difference maker this time around.