Boston snatched up former lottery pick Devin Carter on a low-risk deal, exposing Portland’s failure to gamble on high-upside talent despite their own mounting backcourt injuries.
The Portland Trail Blazers have plenty of guards. They also just watched the Boston Celtics take the kind of virtually free swing that a team in Portland's position should be taking every chance it gets.
Devin Carter, the No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with Boston on Monday. The 24-year-old will enter training camp competing for the Celtics' final standard roster spot or an available two-way slot.
Portland should have tried to beat them to it.
Yes, the backcourt is crowded. Ja Morant, Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson and Damian Lillard already make opportunities difficult to find before Shaedon Sharpe eventually returns.
But apparently, that wasn't a dealbreaker two months ago.
Portland signed John Tonje to a two-way contract in July. Tonje, the No. 53 pick in 2025, averaged 18.1 points across 29 G League appearances last season.
That's not a shot at Tonje. He earned his opportunity.
It's a reason the positional-logjam argument doesn't do much here.
Carter entered the NBA only two years ago after averaging 19.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists at Providence, where he earned Big East Player of the Year honors. His NBA career hasn't come close to matching his draft position. He averaged 8.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists across 38 games last season while shooting 26.3% from three.
Sacramento eventually shipped him and a 2033 second-round pick to Atlanta, and the Hawks waived him Friday.
Three days later … Boston took the swing.
Why didn't Portland?
Sharpe's injury only makes the question easier to ask. The 23-year-old underwent surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee and won't be reevaluated for six months.
No, Carter wasn't going to replace Sharpe. He wasn't walking into Portland and receiving 30 minutes per night, either.
Who cares?
Boston isn't promising him any of that. The Celtics are bringing a 24-year-old former lottery pick into camp and asking him to prove he still belongs.
Maybe he doesn't. Carter could be waived in a few weeks, and this entire conversation becomes irrelevant. His first two NBA seasons offer plenty of reasons to question whether he'll ever become the player Sacramento envisioned.
That's precisely why Carter was available for an Exhibit 10 deal.
Portland is no longer desperate for every developmental flier to work. Its roster has real talent, established veterans and young players worth investing in. That should make swings like this easier to take — not less appealing.
The Blazers didn't need Devin Carter.
They needed nothing more than an invitation to find out whether they might.
Boston decided a 24-year-old former lottery pick was worth that much.
Portland should have, too.
