After months of speculating, it looks like the Sacramento Kings are going to keep their first round pick (for now). And with it, they selected the 22-year-old Devin Carter of the Providence Friars.
Sacramento is selecting Devin Carter at No. 13 in the NBA Draft, sources say. https://t.co/1u2Qcjqzbo
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 27, 2024
Many people would say that Carter was a steal at 13, as draft experts like The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor had him as high as number five on their draft boards. But how good of a pick for the Kings was this actually?
Grade: B+
There are a lot of people who study the draft pretty in-depth that will tell you that you should always take the best player available and not worry too much about fit. That school of thought would be thrilled with this selection.
While I still need to do more scouting work on Carter, at a glance, this fellow appears to be a baller. Not only did he average nearly 20 PPG (19.7 PPG, to be exact), but he also showed that he's a reliable shooter (37.7% from three on 6.8 3-point attempts per game). That means that you don't need to worry about his ability to space the floor.
On top of that, he's a stout perimeter defender (O'Connor even compared him to defensive ace Jrue Holiday), an excellent defensive playmaker (89th percentile in steal rate and 77th percentile in block rate in the Big East, per KenPom), and a physical force on the inside (number one in the Big East in defensive rebounding percentage despite being a guard).
Someone is going to get lucky when they draft Devin Carter this week. Tireless defender, mature, clutch, continually improving, and ready to compete from day one. pic.twitter.com/GSWtlCiPiI
— Kevin Farrahar (@Kevin_Farrahar) June 25, 2024
As the tweet above suggests, Carter is ready to compete immediately. He will help the Kings, but he isn't exactly what they need.
As we've discussed all month, the Kings' biggest need is at power forward. They need to upgrade their current starter (Harrison Barnes) for someone who is better equipped to attack closeouts, space the floor, and, most importantly, provide secondary rim protection (since Domantas Sabonis isn't a great rim protector).
Right now, the Kings have a bounty of individuals who can slot in at the shooting guard spot (Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter, Davion Mitchell, Keon Ellis, Chris Duarte, Colby Jones, and now, Devin Carter), but not much by way of front line size.
That brings us back to the reason we are giving them a B+ instead of a straight A. Yes, they (probably) took the best player available at that point in the draft. But they didn't work toward addressing their biggest need – either by drafting a power forward (like Tristan da Silva) or using the pick to trade for one (like Jerami Grant).
Now, the Kings don't need to trade Carter to get an upgrade at power forward. They still have Huerter, Barnes, and multiple future firsts to dangle at would-be trade partners. They could easily keep Carter and still acquire a high-level four.
The Kings will need to upgrade this position if they plan on rising from the middle of the pack to the upper echelon of the league. But we don't know if they are going to make this move or if they are just content to grab a great prospect and proceed to toil away into mediocrity. That's why we'll give them a B+ for the selection for now.
(Sidebar: I'm also a little worried about how this pick will effect the development of Keon Ellis. Ellis was one of the biggest bright spots of the Kings' season last year. How much will the addition of Carter eat into his minutes?)