The Sacramento Kings are not exactly a team known for nurturing young players. In light of that, the rest of the league was surely asking themselves a key question after his recent release: How much did a bad environment hurt Devin Carter's player development?
Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers and every other team to answering that question. They deemed the Kings to hold a fair share of responsibility in his early failures. The Celtics signed him, offering him a chance to compete for a spot within their franchise.
The Boston Celtics and Devin Carter have agreed to a deal, league sources told @hoopshype. Carter will compete for an NBA roster or two-way spot in camp. Carter averaged 8.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 18.4 minutes during 38 games for the Sacramento Kings last season. pic.twitter.com/eo4U82bCg2
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) September 14, 2026
Devin Carter was a worthwhile gamble for anyone
Carter was a lottery pick just two years ago in the 2024 NBA Draft. The Kings selected him 13th overall. Despite that, Sacramento had seen enough after two underwhelming campaigns. They traded him to the Atlanta Hawks, and set him up for the release that came his way recently.
The good news for the franchises who wanted to explore adding the young guard was that Carter would be eligible for a two-way contract. Interested teams would not need to give the former Kings guard a spot on the main roster to kick the tires on his development.
With that type of low-cost, high-reward commitment available to suitors, the Celtics had no trouble selling themselves on giving him a chance to earn a spot. If the Lakers believed Carter's early failures had more to do with the Kings than him, they moved too slowly here.
Lakers will kick themselves if Devin Carter finds his footing with the Celtics
The appeal of Carter as a prospect is clear. The 24-year-old has strong upside as a defensive talent on the perimeter. That is the selling point of his game right now.
Where teams will need to work with him is the offensive end. Carter has faced a real uphill battle to generate consistent and efficient offense over his first two seasons in the NBA. Injuries have also been a part of his early-career story, raising some yellow flags there.
It is also unfortunately telling that Sacramento, who has been awfully depleted at the point guard spot over recent years, did not truly give Carter a chance to seize a long-term role in the rotation. That serves as a caution sign for interested teams.
The Celtics, in spite of all that, were willing to take the risk here that the Lakers were not. Boston was positioned well to do so. They currently have both a main roster spot and a two-way deal unaccounted for. Either of those can go to Carter in the event of him proving himself in training camp.
The Lakers are over the roster limit at 16. Los Angeles also has Chris Mañon, Arthur Kaluma, and AK Okereke occupying their three two-way spots. If they wanted to gamble on reviving Carter's young career, it would have required more work to create an opening for him.
Even so, the Celtics have proven capable of turning around the careers of young guys and morphing them into role players of late. Neemias Queta serves as the most recent example. If the Lakers watch that kind of transformation happen to Carter from a distance, there will be inevitable disappointment in not taking the risk themselves.
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