For the last couple of weeks leading up to the All-Star break, the Sacramento Kings did a complete 180 on Devin Carter and actually started giving him more minutes. The Kings need to keep doing that because the more confidence they show in him, the better he will play for them.
The youth movement on the Kings began at the 2025 NBA Draft with the additions of Dylan Cardwell, Maxime Raynaud, and Nique Clifford. Cardwell went undrafted, but the Kings picked him up shortly after and recently made the smart decision to sign him to a full NBA contract.
Developing a young core on the team will continue in the 2026 NBA Draft. Given how badly the Kings are playing this season, possibly on purpose to an extent, Sacramento is likely to get a high lottery draft pick. Some projections show them using the second pick to get Cameron Boozer.
Regardless of how the next draft goes, the Kings cannot forget about the young players they already have, both on their current roster and on their G League team. They have a lot of talent that has yet to be fully tapped, including their sophomore player, Devin Carter.
The Kings need to keep the pace up with Carter
Over the past seven games, Carter has seen a drastic increase in minutes over the rest of the season. His average over 2025-2026 is 13.4 minutes per game. Over the last seven games before the break, he was averaging 22.9 minutes per game. His stats definitely followed that.
Carter has seen increases in points, rebounds, and assists over the same time period, which is great. His defensive presence has also improved. At the same time, his efficiency is lacking. He got 19 points in the last game, but only shot 30.8% from the field and 16.7% from three.
There's no doubt that Carter has the goods to be an important player in the Kings' rebuild. But he has to be the one to deliver those goods. That means shooting a lot better on a regular basis and finding his flow as an offensive facilitator. Carter's passing is good. It needs to be great.
The only way for the Kings to get him there is to keep playing Carter. Keep giving him minutes. Keep putting the ball in his hands. He's shown some serious growth over the last few games and is fitting in well with the current crop of rookies. Building from there is a serious win for Sacramento.