Kings Assign Former Lottery Pick to NBA G League

In what should not be too surprising a development, the Sacramento Kings have assigned former 13th overall pick Devin Carter to their G League affiliate in Stockton.

Simply put, Carter has not panned out in Sacramento. Sacramento trounced the Miami Heat, and Carter still received a DNP-CD. All other young players entered the game, and the only other DNPs were veterans Doug McDermott and Dario Saric. Very odd, but it encapsulates just how things have gone for Carter during his first two seasons in Sacramento.

From Kings:

OFFICIAL: @SacramentoKings assign Devin Carter to the @StocktonKings
— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) December 7, 2025

Devin Carter's Kings tenure has not gone to plan

The former Providence Friar entered the league widely seen as a winning player who could serve as a versatile connective piece that could fill many gaps. Comparisons ranged from Ayo Dosumnu to Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. Comps can vary, but it was undeniable that Carter was viewed as someone who could immediately impact winning as a rookie.

Those expectations did not come close to materializing. Sacramento received a lot of praise for taking Carter 13th, even if there was some positional redundancy with De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Keon Ellis, and Davion Mitchell (who was ultimately traded before the season began).

The final first-round pick of Monte McNair’s run as General Manager certainly stayed true to his preferred archetype, placing a premium on multi-year college prospects who improved every year of college. Tyrese Haliburton, Davion Mitchell, and Keegan Murray all fit this bill as well. The idea was that Carter was simply too good a talent, and that his skill set could mold to fit with the talent already present in the Sacramento backcourt.

Just three weeks after the draft, though, Sacramento announced that Carter would undergo shoulder surgery and would be re-evaluated in six months. This brutal development immediately put Carter behind the eight-ball, as he would return right in the thick of the postseason chase, when there was little to no room for error while Carter tried to find his footing.

Devin Carter drills the long triple 3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/vma5gvFJJR
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 13, 2025

There is undoubtedly a universe where Carter is a useful player in Sacramento’s rotation this season. Conventional wisdom would probably say that a team starved for perimeter defense would play their young, second-year former lottery pick who has shown the ability to play plus perimeter defense.

However, that universe is probably also the one where Monte McNair is still Sacramento’s General Manager. Once McNair and the Kings mutually parted ways, Carter’s trajectory became far less certain. There was no guarantee the next regime would see Carter as a building block for the next iteration of the Sacrament Kings - regardless of the draft capital invested in him just one season ago.

Scott Perry almost immediately made it clear he did not see Carter as a fit moving forward. Sacramento very publicly courted both Dennis Schroder and Russell Westbrook starting in June, and eventually signed both before the season began. They eventually acquired Schroder on a well-above-market level contract via a sign and trade in July, touting him as their new starting point guard. Schroder started all of 12 games before moving to a reserve role.

After the Westbrook signing just days before opening night, Sam Amick reported that Sacramento’s “need for a more impactful backup point guard was even more glaring after a training camp in which none of their current players impressed enough to win the job.”

So, Perry and the organization got to see Carter in training camp, and did not think he was good enough to run the second unit. This led to Carter being buried in the depth chart, playing in just 8 games this season. He has only played more than 10 minutes twice this season. Regime change aside, it is incredibly rare to see a player this clearly on the outs just 44 games and less than 500 minutes into his NBA career.

Carter may well end up having a long, productive NBA career. However, it seems like the chances that Carter enjoys that productive career in Sacramento are slim to none. At this point, Sacramento would be fortunate to receive second-round picks back from whichever opportunistic team sees this as a chance to nab lottery-caliber backcourt talent for next to nothing.

Devin Carter’s days with the Kings could be coming to an end, per @TheSteinLine

“Devin Carter's days with the franchise appear to be dwindling. He might have been the 13th overall pick out of Providence as recently as the 2024 NBA Draft, but the front office leaders who made… pic.twitter.com/eEj5R2H3JT
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 18, 2025

While not wholly unsurprising, this has been a truly puzzling way to manage a young player and willingly tank any trade value he may have had going into the season. Sacramento does not have much in the way of young, cost-controlled talent. Their unwillingness to provide them with an opportunity to grow on the court - despite the abysmal results from the veteran-laden rotation thus far - is confusing.

The Stockton Kings are a well-run G League organization that has helped develop a lot of good talent. Keon Ellis spent significant time there, as did Neemias Queta, who is now thriving with consistent minutes in Boston. Hopefully, Carter can get some good reps with that team and get his confidence up, should an opportunity arise in Sacramento.

If the season continues down the path it is going, it would be irresponsible not to give Carter some run with Nique Clifford, Keon Ellis, Keegan Murray, and Maxime Raynaud. While Carter may not be part of Perry’s vision for the future of Kings basketball, it is worth seeing (i) how he meshes with the young group he has, and (ii) if Carter can play well enough to create some sort of trade market for himself. Hopefully, a stint in Stockton is the kick-start needed to get this process rolling.

Devin Carter's Kings tenure has not gone to plan

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