The Celtics have expressed interest in signing Devin Carter once the former Providence standout clears the waiver wire, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
Fischer was first to report earlier on Friday that Carter had been waived by the Hawks. Atlanta acquired Carter and a 2033 second-round pick at the end of June in a trade with Sacramento.
The Kings selected Carter with the 13th overall pick in the 2024 draft. The 6’2″ 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 block on .473/.377/.749 shooting splits in 33 appearances (35.3 minutes per game).
However, his NBA career hasn’t gotten off to a great start. Carter’s debut was delayed several months due to left shoulder surgery and he battled ankle, back, and calf issues during his second season in 2025/26. He appeared in just 74 total regular season games in his two years with the Kings, averaging 6.4 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 1.9 APG in 14.8 MPG, with an underwhelming .401/.274/.674 shooting line.
Carter had some big games down the stretch of last season and unsurprisingly performed better when he received consistent playing time. Over his last 12 appearances (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 $1.7MM below the luxury tax line with 14 players on guaranteed standard contracts, per Yossi Gozlan of CapSheets.com. Signing Carter to a one-year, minimum-salary deal would result in a $2.45MM cap hit.
Still, we don’t know for sure that Carter will sign with the Celtics and we also don’t know what type of contract he might sign. Perhaps he’ll receive a partially 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 operating a little over the tax line to open the season. It also likely wouldn’t be too difficult to move below that threshold ahead of the trade deadline in February.
Carter is the son of longtime former NBA guard Anthony Carter, who’s now an assistant coach with the Grizzlies.