Devin Carter was the 13th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Two years later, the Atlanta Hawks cut him loose without ever playing him a regular season minute. That is a fast fall, and Boston is the team circling.
The Celtics have registered interest in signing Carter once he clears waivers, per Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. They have an open roster spot and the money for a minimum deal. That combination makes this one of the easier calls a front office will make all month.
Here is the résumé. Carter is 24, a Providence product, and Sacramento took him in the lottery in 2024. Over two seasons with the Kings he appeared in 74 games and averaged 6.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists on a .401/.274/.674 shooting line. Last season he put up 8.9 points and 3.3 rebounds. The Kings traded him and a future second-rounder to Atlanta in June for the draft rights to Alpha Kaba, which is another way of saying they gave him away.
Why the Shooting Number Is the Whole Story
Look at that 27.4 percent from three. In a league built on spacing, a guard who cannot shoot is a defensive coverage the other team gets for free. That is the reason Carter went from lottery pick to waiver claim in 24 months, and no amount of athleticism papers over it.
But the rest of the package is real. Carter is a defensive menace, one of the hardest-playing guards in his draft class, and he rebounds like a wing despite the position. He was a legitimately coveted prospect in the summer of 2024 and nothing about his motor has changed. The jumper broke. The rest did not.
Boston Is the Right Landing Spot
The Celtics can afford to be patient with a project in a way Atlanta could not. Boston has established veterans in the rotation, a defensive system that rewards exactly the kind of point-of-attack pressure Carter provides, and a development staff with a track record of fixing broken shooters. A minimum contract for a 24-year-old former lottery pick carries close to zero downside.
There is also the New England angle. Carter spent his college years at Providence, less than an hour from TD Garden, and he was a star there. That does not win basketball games, but a player rebuilding his confidence in a place he already knows is not nothing.
The realistic ceiling here is a rotation guard who guards the other team’s best perimeter player for 15 minutes a night and hits enough corner threes to stay on the floor. The realistic floor is a two-way contract body who never cracks the rotation. At the minimum, that risk profile is fine.
What Happens Next
Carter has to clear waivers first, and there is a chance another team with cap space claims him outright rather than letting Boston have him for free. Any club with a rebuild underway and minutes to hand out could take a flier, and a 24-year-old lottery pick with defensive chops will get phone calls.
If he does hit the open market, expect Boston to move quickly. The Celtics have been hunting cheap backcourt depth all offseason and Carter fits the exact profile they want: young, defensively serious, and available for nothing. Teams do not usually get to buy a lottery pick at clearance prices.
Atlanta will look silly if this works out, though that is the risk of clearing a roster spot in September. Someone always gets a bargain. Boston is positioned to be that someone.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.