The Celtics expressed interest in signing Devin Carter once the former Providence standout clears the waiver wire, per Jake Fisher of The Stein Line and Bleacher Report (Link to Twitter).
Earlier Friday, Fisher was the first to report that Carter was refused By hawks. In late June, Atlanta acquired Carter and his 2033 second-round pick in a trade with Sacramento.
The Kings selected Carter with the 13th overall pick in the 2024 draft. The 6-foot-2 guard had a strong junior season for the Friars in 2023-24, averaging 19.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks on .473/.377/.749 shooting in 33 games (35.3 minutes per game).
However, his NBA career didn’t get off to a good start. Carter’s debut was delayed for several months due to surgery on his left shoulder and he struggled with ankle, back and shin problems during his second season in 2025/26. In two years with the Kings, he played in just 74 regular season games, averaging 6.4 ppg, 2.7 ppg and 1.9 ppg at 14.8 mpg, with a staggering .401/.274/.674 shooting percentage.
Carter had some big games last season and, unsurprisingly, performed best when he received consistent playing time. Over his last one 12 performances (27.5 mpg), the 24-year-old averaged 15.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.9 APG and 1.1 SPG on .461/.375/.630 shooting.
Boston is currently only about $1.7 million under the luxury tax cap with 14 players on guaranteed standard contracts for Yossi Gozlan of CapSheets.com. Signing Carter to a one-year, minimum-salary contract would hit the $2.45 million cap hit.
However, we don’t know for sure that Carter will sign with the Celtics, nor do we know what kind of contract he might sign. He might get a partial or non-guaranteed contract, or even a two-way deal — Boston currently has one two-way opening.
It’s worth noting that even if Carter does sign a guaranteed contract with Boston, the team might be comfortable working a little above the tax to open the season. It probably won’t be too difficult to get below that threshold before the trade deadline in February, either.
Carter is the son of a longtime former NBA guard Anthony Carterwho is now an assistant coach with the Grizzlies.
