The Sacramento Kings have had a great offseason. They retained Malik Monk, executed a sign-and-trade for DeMar DeRozan, and added some nice depth at center and point guard. But arguably more important than all of that, it seems they knocked their 13th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft out of the park by selecting Devin Carter.
On his annual draft podcast, Thinking Basketball's Ben Taylor had Swish Theory's Ahmed Jama on to discuss the 2024 lottery prospects. And during the episode, Jama had some wonderful words to say about our very own Carter. Here is part of the segment (be sure to check out the entire podcast):
"“As far as taking lessons from the [2024] Playoffs, the biggest winner across the board, I think a lot of basketball heads would agree, everyone came from the Playoffs looking a player like Derrick White or just like a guy that. A guard-sized player [who] can contribute in typical guard ways, but can [also shore] up the holes across the [a roster], and I think Devin Carter is definitely a player that can do that. Like you mentioned, [he’s] a very high-level defender [and] extremely high-level athlete. Earlier, I mentioned Reed Sheppard as far as cataloging his statistics compared to other drafted players around his size, and the only player who was in the same range and had a higher block rate than [Sheppard] was Carter.”"Ahmed Jama, Thinking Basketball Podcast
Now, to be clear, Jame did not directly compare Carter to the now-world champion. But to even be mentioned in the same conversation as Derrick White is a very promising sign for Carter and fans of the Kings.
White is one of the very best role players in the NBA. He is the epitome of a Swiss Army Knife. He can shoot, attack closeouts, run some pick and roll, defend on-ball, defend off-ball, and offer some positional rim protection (something that is particularly important to a team like the Kings).
If Carter can end up being a similar type of player for the Kings, that could significantly increase their chances of competing for a title in the upcoming years. Versatile players like White and Carter (and Keegan Murray) are exactly what you need to mask the weaknesses of offense-first stars like Domantas Sabonis, De'Aaron Fox, and DeMar DeRozan.
Unfortunately, we probably won't be seeing too much of Carter in Year One, as it was announced in July that he would miss roughly six months after getting surgery to address a left shoulder injury.
If you want more insight on Carter and other draft prospects, be sure to check out Jama's work and the rest of the wonderful cast at Swish Theory.