Sacramento Kings rookie Devin Carter is expected to require surgery on his injured shoulder, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. There is no known timetable for his recovery, but he is expected to be fine long-term.
Sacramento Kings No. 13 forward Devin Carter is expected to undergo surgery on his left shoulder next week, sources said. @TheAthletic @StadiumCarter’s status at the start of next season is questionable, but he is expected to make a full recovery with no lasting issues. photo.twitter.com/oHHDmA7iKY
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 7, 2024
This is obviously frustrating, but the Kings knew about this injury before the draft based on Monte McNair’s comments after the draft. This could be the reason why Carter fell and was available to the Kings with the 13th pick despite being higher on many draft boards. It will be interesting if the Kings make an official statement about this and we get a better idea of what this mystery injury actually is, as well as an expected time frame.
Hopefully Carter doesn’t miss too much of his rookie season. This could explain why the Kings added another guard when they signed Jordan McLaughlin, but I personally think the McLaughlin signing made sense anyway. Even with a healthy Carter, the Kings still needed a backup point guard who was truly a point guard.
Let’s hope Devin Carter has a quick recovery.
Update:
Immediately after I hit publish I saw this tweet from Damian Barling saying he had a timeline of 6-8 months:
We’ve already heard it’s 6-8 months. Things could change once the doctors get there, but it’s almost certain Carter will miss the start of the season. https://t.co/BGvKPm0nzU
— Damien Barling (@damienbarling) July 7, 2024
And a little insight from former Kings coach Pete Youngman:
Of course I don’t know what the specific injuries are… If I really wanted a certain player, was convinced he was the best available player for that draft position for my team and I could afford to wait for him, there’s not much about a shoulder that would deter me 🏀⚕️
—Pete Youngman (@_petethetrainer) July 7, 2024