Key Points
- Atlanta acquired guard Devin Carter and a 2033 second-round pick from Sacramento
- The Kings moved Carter to clear salary and get further under the apron
- Carter, the No. 13 pick in 2024, has averaged 6.4 points over two seasons
- He is owed $5.1 million in 2026-27 and $7.3 million in 2027-28
The Atlanta Hawks are buying low and getting paid to do it. Atlanta is acquiring 24-year-old guard Devin Carter and a 2033 second-round pick from the Sacramento Kings, sending back little more than cash considerations in a deal that reads as a salary dump for Sacramento.
For the Kings, the math is the point. Sacramento had crept closer to the luxury-tax aprons than a team of its standing should, and shipping out Carter — along with a future second — clears salary and restores some flexibility. For the Hawks, it is a cheap flier: Carter was the No. 13 pick in the 2024 draft, and while he has averaged just 6.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists across two underwhelming seasons, he is still a former first-rounder on a manageable deal, owed $5.1 million in 2026-27 and $7.3 million in 2027-28.
That is the quiet version of how a cap-constrained league works: the Kings pay, in a draft pick, for the privilege of getting off a contract, and Atlanta — fresh off moving Trae Young to Washington — pockets the asset and the optionality. It is the same logic running underneath the louder moves of this offseason, from the Lakers' $185 million for Austin Reaves on down: in the second-apron era, flexibility is the currency, and teams will trade real picks to buy it back.
Source: NBA.com, NBC Sports Bay Area, Sports Illustrated
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