Heat should kick tires on acquiring this second-year guard

The Miami Heat are currently treading down a directionless path, and now that they’re no longer close to contention without Jimmy Butler, the plan is clear: Focus on their youth while acquiring assets.

You either adapt or die, and the Heat are currently dying by their own stubbornness and lack of foresight. This offseason serves a path as a perfect course correction, the Heat have a collection of middling–not great, but not terrible–trade pieces of value.

Their returns may not always net a first-round pick or an asset of greater value, but there could be a clear trickle effect of stacking the war chest–be it adding draft capital or buying low on young players on cost-controlled contracts, which have serious value. And they should no further than Sacramento, with first-year general manager Scott Perry, for their first buy-low target.

Heat should play the stock market with Devin Carter:

The Sacramento Kings cleaned house hours after being eliminated in the play-in by the Dallas Mavericks, firing Monte McNair and hiring former Knicks executive Scott Perry.

After trading away De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio at the deadline for a very underwhelming package, they are left in a place of transition, led by Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan. They are expected to explore DeRozan’s market as the 16-year veteran enters his age-36 season. However, Sacramento is reportedly trying to acquire a first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft after losing out on their top-12 protected pick owed to Atlanta, and could be dangling two guards, including second-year guard Devin Carter.

“The Kings have expressed a desire to acquire a first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto’s report read. “Amid those conversations, Sacramento has gauged the trade market on guards Malik Monk and Devin Carter, sources said.

Monk is no slouch, either. He averaged 17.2 points and 5.6 assists on 43.2 percent shooting and 54.9 percent true shooting a year ago. He finished as a runner-up in the Sixth Man of the Year voting in 2023-24 and developed into one of the league’s most effective bench guards.

However, Carter, 23, has the most intrigue. Recall, prior to draft night, the No. 13 overall pick worked out with the Heat last year. But he unfortunately missed most of his rookie season with a torn labrum, averaging just 3.8 points and 2.1 rebounds in 11.0 minutes across 36 contests.

This should unequivocally be a buy-low opportunity that Miami should explore–no matter how duplicitous his skillset is with Davion Mitchell (who he was drafted to essentially replace). Miami, who owns the No. 20 pick in this week’s draft, has, according to what we know publicly, barely worked out any first-round prospects, signaling the pick could still be on the move despite not trading for Kevin Durant.

Standing at 6-foot-2 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan, Carter, the son of former Heat player and assistant Anthony Carter, will be on the books for $4.9M, $5.2M and $7.4 million over his next three years, respectively. That’s not expensive. Monk’s contract (three-years, $60.6M) is a different story, but you can potentially make that work for the 27-year-old if you’re getting Carter back.

Carter was one of the best all-around defensive prospects in last year’s class. He was also a tenacious rebounder, high-level athlete (42″ max vert.) and rangy 3-point shooter on steady volume, albeit with a shotput-esque form.

There is a more clear runway for Carter as a second-year player where he’ll have a full offseason to develop and get back on track. His season was injury-riddled; Carter was behind the 8-ball the whole way, so it’s difficult to take much from it. Now, if the Kings are really looking to sell low, this could be a perfect opportunity for Miami to jump on and potentially give Davion Mitchell a legitimate mentee for Carter, another bulldog that would fit perfectly in the Miami Heat’s kennel.

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