One of the big reasons why Devin Carter turned out to be a bust for the Sacramento Kings was that his jump shot inexplicably fell off a cliff in the NBA. Carter earned Big East Player of the Year honors at Providence, scoring 19.7 points per game and shooting 37.7% from three-point range on almost 7 attempts per game.
Carter looked like a bona fide shooting and scoring star and a defensive ace, which led the Kings to select him with the 13th overall pick in 2024. But in two seasons in Sacramento, Carter failed to establish himself as a rotation player and made just 27.4% of his long-range attempts.
That’s not going to hack it as a guard in the NBA, which led the Kings to dump Carter in a trade and the Hawks to subsequently waive him. Two teams giving up on a lottery pick just two years into his career is rare, but that’s how he ended up signing with the Celtics.
We know the talent is there, and Boston is betting on their developmental team and coaching staff to fix his jumper and revive his career. And frankly, this staff has earned the benefit of the doubt with their track record.
Celtics are elite at developing shooters
We’ve seen the Celtics take average shooters and non-shooters from other teams and turn them into marksmen like Derrick White (34.4% in San Antonio, 36.6% in Boston) and Luka Garza (31.4% in his first three seasons, then 43.3% in Boston).
We’ve also seen them draft players who didn’t appear to be great shooters in college and turn them into viable threats from deep, like Jaylen Brown (29.4% at Cal, 35.8% in his Boston career) and Jordan Walsh (27.8% at Arkansas, 38.4% last year in Boston).
And we’ve watched countless other players steadily improve over time and become very comfortable three-point shooters. Carter is the latest reclamation project, but unlike some others in the past, the history is already there. From his time at Providence, we know Carter can shoot; he just has to regain his confidence and rhythm.
If there’s any team in the NBA that can help him do that, it’s the Celtics. That’s why the 24-year-old was willing to sign an Exhibit 10 deal and fight for a spot in training camp. He’s betting on himself, and he’s betting on the Celtics organization. If he’s right and the Celtics are right, this could be a very lucrative marriage for both sides, and the latest lottery ticket that Stevens gets to cash in.
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