The NBA offseason is moving fast. Free agency has not even opened yet, but front offices are not waiting around to reshape their rosters for 2026-27.
For the Sacramento Kings, the offseason has been about one thing above all else: clearing house. General manager Scott Perry has been sorting through holdovers from the previous regime, and one name kept coming up in trade conversations all year.
Sacramento Kings Trade Devin Carter to Atlanta Hawks
GettyTrade: Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks Reach Agreement on New Deal
Shams Charania broke the news on X, posting: “The Sacramento Kings are trading guard Devin Carter and a future second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks, sources tell ESPN.” What Atlanta is sending back to Sacramento has not yet been reported.
Carter was the 13th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft out of Providence, but things never went as planned. He immediately had shoulder surgery after the draft, which kept him out for the first 38 games of his rookie season. By the time he returned, the Kings were already heading in a new direction.
Carter’s days in Sacramento had been dwindling for a while. The front office leaders who originally drafted him, Monte McNair and Wes Wilcox, are no longer with the organization. Perry took over as GM and began moving on from McNair’s guys, and Carter was one of the clearest candidates to go.
He did show flashes this past season. His game improved in 2025-26, but consistency was the problem. In one game he played 18 minutes and scored two points. In another, he went for 20 points, eight rebounds, and five assists in nearly 29 minutes as the starting point guard.
That kind of game made it hard to build around him, especially as Sacramento’s rebuild took shape around younger players like Maxime Raynaud and Nique Clifford. Atlanta, it turns out, sees something worth betting on.
What This Means for Both Teams
GettyTrade: Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks Agree to Devin Carter Trade
The Hawks entered the summer focused on reshaping their roster after trading Trae Young midseason, and they made all three of their 2026 draft picks without moving off any of them.
Carter is a young, defensively engaged guard with real upside. That is exactly the kind of player a rebuilding Atlanta team can afford to develop.
For Sacramento, the Kings have been building toward a young backcourt group featuring players 25 and under. Moving Carter signals that Perry did not see him fitting that future. With Zach LaVine opting into his $49 million deal and DeMar DeRozan still on the books, the Kings need cap clarity as much as anything else this summer.
The full return for Sacramento is still unknown. But Perry is clearly not waiting around. Every move this offseason has a purpose, and this one is no different.
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