The Boston Celtics agreed to terms with guard Devin Carter on Monday, three days after the Atlanta Hawks waived him, according to a report by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
The move creates added competition for Boston’s final roster and two-way spots ahead of training camp, with the contract’s exact details yet to be announced.
Carter will report to Boston’s camp, which opens Sept. 28, and compete for either a standard NBA roster spot or the team’s one remaining two-way slot. Amari Williams and Dillon Mitchell already occupy Boston’s other two two-way openings.
No classification — minimum, Exhibit 10, non-guaranteed standard or two-way — has been made public as of Monday morning. Boston entered Monday with 14 players on standard contracts and sat close to the luxury-tax line, meaning a guaranteed minimum deal for Carter would push the payroll into tax territory.
Devin Carter’s Journey From Lottery Pick to Waiver Wire
Atlanta waived Carter on Friday, only after acquiring him on June 30, according to Hoops Rumors’ Rory Maher. The Hawks remain on the hook for his $5.16 million guaranteed salary this season and already declined his fourth-year option.
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line first flagged Boston’s interest once it became clear Carter would clear waivers, Hoops Rumors reported. NBA rules bar him from returning to Sacramento, the team that drafted and later dealt him.
Carter, born in Miami, is the son of longtime NBA guard Anthony Carter, now a Memphis Grizzlies assistant. He played high school ball at Cherry Creek in Colorado and Doral Academy in Florida before a postgraduate year at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.
He began his college career at South Carolina, then transferred to Providence, where he broke out as a junior. Carter earned Big East Player of the Year honors in 2023-24, according to a Providence Journal report on his 19.7-point, 8.7-rebound season.
Sacramento drafted Carter 13th overall in 2024. Shoulder surgery pushed his debut to January 2025, and ankle, calf and back injuries limited him through two seasons. He averaged 8.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 18.4 minutes across 38 games last season, closing with a 29-point night against Golden State.
Carter looked far more comfortable once Sacramento gave him a real role down the stretch. Over his final 12 appearances, he averaged 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists while shooting 46.1 percent from the field. The Kings shipped him to Atlanta on June 30 in a second-apron salary dump that returned the draft rights to Alpha Kaba.
What Carter Adds to Celtics Backcourt
Boston’s guard rotation currently runs through Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and 38-year-old Mike Conley, with Exhibit 10 hopefuls Milos Uzan and Tucker DeVries also in camp. Carter brings a 6-foot-8 3/4-inch wingspan, physical defense and rebounding from the guard spot, a profile that fits Boston’s recent taste for high-effort reclamation projects.
Forbes Celtics writer Bobby Krivitsky compared the move to Boston’s earlier flier on Neemias Queta.
“Like with Neemias Queta, it’s a chance to profit from plucking another ex-King,” Celtics writer Bobby Krivitsky opined before the deal, according to Krivitsky.
Carter’s outside shot remains the question mark in the spacing-reliant Boston scheme favored by coach Joe Mazzulla. He has hit just 27.4 percent from three in the NBA. Atlanta, not the Celtics, is still paying down his $5.16 million rookie-contract salary, so the signing costs Boston little beyond a roster spot.
Neither Brad Stevens nor Mazzulla has commented publicly on the signing as of Monday morning. Boston holds a media availability Tuesday to introduce Paul George, Mike Conley and Mitchell Robinson, where the Celtics could address Carter’s arrival for the first time.
Celtics Land $5 Million Former 1st-Round Pick Devin Carter in Sudden Signing