Kings rookie Devin Carter needs shoulder surgery, could miss start of season, per report

Sacramento Kings guard Devin Carter, the No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, will undergo surgery on his left shoulder later this month, according to Shams Charania. Carter will not participate in Summer League and could miss the start of next season. 

Carter began his collegiate career at South Carolina, but transferred to Providence after his freshman season. He blossomed into a star with the Friars, and was named Big East Player of the Year last season after averaging 19.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game on 37.7% shooting from behind the arc. 

On draft night, CBS Sports’ Adam Finkelstein gave the Kings an “A” for their selection of Carter, writing:

“This is a straight A. Carter was one of my three favorite prospects in this class relative to expectations. He’s an elite competitor going to a team where he can help right away. You don’t bet against elite competitors. He stepped up big-time when Bryce Hopkins went down. He has an NBA pedigree, and he is ready to go.”

Devin’s father, Anthony Carter, spent 13 seasons in the league with six different teams, and was briefly teammates with DeMar DeRozan, the Kings’ newest addition, in Toronto. (Anthony Carter is perhaps most well-known for a snafu in which his agent failed to tell the Miami Heat that Carter wanted to exercise a player option in the summer of 2003. As a result, Carter became a free agent and the Heat used that extra cap space to sign Lamar Odom, whom they eventually traded to the Los Angeles Lakers to acquire Shaquille O’Neal in 2004. O’Neal, of course, then helped the Heat win a title in 2006.)

Though just 6-foot-3 and more of a scorer than a point guard, Carter is an intriguing prospect due to his defensive instincts, hard-nosed approach and 3-point shooting ability. Whenever he returns to action, he figures to play real minutes for a Kings team that is short on perimeter defenders. 

The good news is that Carter is expected to make a full recovery and it does not appear that he’ll miss a significant portion of his rookie season. Still, this is not how anyone wants to begin their professional career, and having to sit out of Summer League and training camp will be a real blow to Carter’s development.