CLEVELAND — It’s been an up-and-down couple of months for Celtics guard Devin Carter.
Carter, who drafted to the Sacramento Kings just two summers ago, was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in June in a salary dump. Then, last month, Carter was waived.
Suddenly, a guy who was the 14th overall pick in 2024 found himself on the outskirts of the NBA.
“It was tough,” Carter said. “I got traded I want to say at the end of June, and then I didn’t get waived until right before training camp started. So it was tough, especially
trying to find a home that fast.”
Carter signed an Exhibit-10, training camp deal with the Celtics shortly after he was waived, in hopes of ultimately fighting for a two-way contract (the Celtics have Dillon Mitchell and Amari Williams as their two two-ways, but have one two-way open).
“Everything’s top class,” Carter said of his Celtics. “Great players, great guys as off the court. That matters just as much as who they are on the court. But, the coaching staff’s great. Front office great. Everybody wants to work. Everybody shows up with the mindset ready to get better. So I think that’s a a big thing in a winning organization.”
Devin Carter was a standout in the Celtics’ win over the Cleveland Cavaliers
On Thursday night, Carter laced up for his Celtics debut, and finished with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in the preseason matchup against the Cavaliers.
“I just wanted to go showcase how much I want to play and how much I deserve to be here,” Carter said. “So, I just think that I’m blessed. All glory to God for the opportunity, and I think I went out there and played as hard as I could. That was what my goal was.”
Carter’s impact was felt; the Celtics outscored the Cavaliers by 22 points in his 24 minutes on the floor; they were outscored by 11 in his 24 minutes sidelined. Perhaps most impactful was his ability to get to the line; he went 6-6 from the charity strip, attempting the second-most free throws in the game.
“I thought he did a really good job getting fouled,” said DJ MacLeay, the Celtics assistant coach who was tasked by Joe Mazzulla with coaching the second half of the game. “He got downhill, attacked, scored. I thought he really put pressure on their defense and got us to the free throw line.”
He finds himself in the same position Celtics players like Ron Harper Jr. and Luka Garza were once in; fighting for a two-way contract in training camp. Last fall, Harper Jr. was one of four players on an Exhibit-10 deal competing for a two-way; this fall, he’s on the first of a three-year deal with the Celtics.
Carter can also draw inspiration from Neemias Queta, who was cut by the Kings three years ago and picked up by the Celtics shortly after. Queta initially signed a two-way contract in the fall of 2024, which was later converted to a standard deal. In July, he signed a $54 million contract extension.
“I talked to Neemi a little bit, because we had kind of the same route, I guess you could say,” Carter said. “We went from Sac, to getting waived, to the Celtics.”
Joe Mazzulla said at training camp that Carter’s mindset and competitiveness has stood out.
“The humility to show up and the openness that he has, of where he’s been in the league and where he wants to get to — and how competitive he is,” said Mazzulla. “He’s very open about wanting to make it. So I’ve appreciated just his mindset, his mentality, the chip on the shoulder that he brings to the game.”
Luka Garza, who was once on an Exhibit-10 contract himself, said after the game that he’s been impressed by Carter’s ball pressure and energy.
“He’s another guy that’s relentless — brought a lot of energy to start,” Garza said. “Was super aggressive, pushed the ball in transition, and I think what stood out just from being in camp and pickup, defensively, is the instincts he has, the way he can guard. He understands that that’s what his superpower is, and then the rest of it, he showed offensively tonight how talented he is and the different things he can do.”
No lottery pick wants to be cut in the middle of their rookie contract. But, Carter doesn’t want to live in the past. He wants to focus on a potential future in Boston, a city an hour away from Providence College, where he starred.
The Celtics’ lone open two-way spot is not promised to Carter, though based on Thursday’s game, he seems like a frontrunner to get it.
“Everything happens for a reason, and I’m just thankful to Brad and the Celtics organization for giving the opportunity to me,” Carter said. “It’s just a blessing.”
