Sacramento Kings select Providence combo guard Devin Carter with No. 13 pick in NBA draft
The Sacramento Kings explored a number of trade possibilities before selecting Providence guard Devin Carter with the No. 13 pick in Wednesday’s NBA draft.
Carter, 22, is 6-3 ½, 193-pound combo guard with a 6-8 ¾ wingspan. He averaged 19.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.8 steals while shooting 47.3% from the field and 37.7% from 3-point range on 6.9 attempts per game.
Carter addressed the Sacramento fan base for the first time in a video posted to social from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
“Kings fans, what’s going on? Devin Carter here. Just got drafted, super excited to get ready to work,” Carter said. “Just wanted to let y’all know you’re getting a competitor, somebody who’s ready to win Day 1, and let’s go. Light the beam.”
Carter later talked about his fit in Sacramento when addressed the media in Brooklyn.
“Just want to thank God first, first and foremost, just for putting me in this position,” Carter said. “I’m just ready to work, come in Day 1, do all the dirty work we need to do to win. I think I’m a winning player, a win-now type of player being one of the older guys in this draft, just having that experience from college, and like I said, doing all the dirty work, rebounding, diving on the floor for loose balls and anything we need to do to win.”
Sacramento shopped the No. 13 pick in trade talks around the league in hopes of adding another key rotation player to a core that features De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray and Malik Monk. The Kings were looking to upgrade their roster after losing in the play-in tournament last season, a disappointing finish for a team that ended a 16-year playoff drought in 2023.
Trade rumors continued to swirl in the hours leading up to the draft with reports linking the Kings to Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma and Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith. A league source told The Sacramento Bee the Kings were also engaged with the Nets in talks for small forward Cameron Johnson.
Sacramento’s chances of using the No. 13 pick to strike a deal for Kuzma seemingly took a hit when Washington traded Deni Avdija to the Portland Trail Blazers for Malcolm Brogdon, the No. 14 pick, a 2029 first-round pick and two future second-round picks.
Ultimately, the Kings decided to draft Carter, who will come to Sacramento to join a backcourt that includes Fox, Monk, Kevin Huerter, Keon Ellis, Davion Mitchell and Colby Jones.
“I’d love to play alongside Malik Monk, De’Aaron Fox,” Carter said. “I think we have a great big in Sabonis, probably one of the best passers in the NBA from a big standpoint. I’m just ready to be a two-way, versatile player, get stops on one end and I can also create some offense not only for myself but for my teammates on the other end.”
Carter said he had a good pre-draft workout with the Kings in the week’s leading up to the draft.
“Honestly, one of my better workouts, I believe,” Carter said. “I think we had a very fantastic meeting with everybody who made the decision to draft me, so just very thankful for that. Me and coach (Mike) Brown talked, how we see myself fitting in on the team, just coach-player talk, so I think I got a good feel for coach, he got a good feel for me, and I’m just ready to start this journey.”
Carter started his college career at South Carolina before entering the transfer portal following his freshman season. He transferred to Providence, where he was named 2024 Big East Conference Player of the Year despite his team’s sixth-place finish.
Carter is the son of Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Anthony Carter, who spent 13 years in the NBA with the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors. He later served as an assistant on George Karl’s coaching staff in Sacramento during the 2015-16 season.
Father and son shared a special moment when NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced Sacramento’s pick.
“It means everything, just seeing his face whenever I got drafted, how happy he was,” Devin Carter said. “He didn’t get a chance to get drafted, so just seeing his face and how excited he was for everything we’ve been through, working out, countless hours throughout the night, the morning, just a very special moment.”
