Devin Carter Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Notes: First-Round Series, Robinson, Rozier, Draft, Lillard

April 21st, 2024 at 10:57am CST by Arthur Hill

If the Heat have any advantage heading into their first-round series with the Celtics, it comes from being more battle-tested, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. While Miami was fighting its way through a pair of high-stakes play-in games this week, Boston was resting up and preparing for its playoff opener. Chiang notes that the Celtics wrapped up the top seed in the East weeks ago, and their regulars haven’t played at all since April 11. Meanwhile, the Heat maintained their intensity through a late-season battle for seeding.

“I love this position, honestly,” Tyler Herro said. “A lot of people didn’t think we were going to win [Friday against the Bulls] and that’s part of it. I feel like we’re better when our backs are against the wall anyways. So we’re going to go to Boston and come up with a game plan with the coaching staff to stop one of the better teams, pretty much ever really, on paper.”

With Jimmy Butler sidelined by an MCL injury and Terry Rozier still out with neck spasms, the Heat are missing two key components from an offense that ranked 21st in the league and often struggled to produce points. Miami’s best chance to duplicate last year’s surprising playoff run is to start by being physical with the Celtics, who led the NBA in offensive efficiency.

“Naturally with some of our firepower out and some guys banged up, it’s going to be an uphill battle,” Kevin Love said. “But different guys are just going to have to step up. You saw it last year with guys going down. But we just have to continue to weather the storm and understand we’re going to be in for a big fight.”

There’s more on the Heat:

Duncan Robinson, who has been dealing with back issues, has been cleared to play in today’s series opener, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel, who posted a video of Robinson testing out his back while shooting this morning. Robinson logged 12 minutes and scored eight points in Friday’s win over Chicago.
The official diagnosis hasn’t changed for Rozier, Winderman adds (Twitter link), with coach Erik Spoelstra telling reporters, “We’ll continue to treat him day-to-day.” An earlier report described Rozier’s injury as week-to-week.
The play-in results have Miami locked into the 15th pick in this year’s draft, Chiang states in a separate story. The Heat won’t be permitted to trade their selection before the June 26 draft because they owe a lottery-protected first-rounder to Oklahoma City in 2025. It will be Miami’s highest draft choice in five years, and Chiang lists Purdue center Zach Edey, Duke center Kyle Filipowski, Providence guard Devin Carter, Colorado forward Tristan da Silva and Duke guard Jared McCain as players who might be available in that range.
After trying to trade for Damian Lillard for most of last summer, the Heat could renew that pursuit this offseason if the veteran guard decides he wants out of Milwaukee, Winderman notes in another piece. Winderman expects team president Pat Riley to go star hunting again, listing Donovan Mitchell, Karl-Anthony Towns and Pascal Siakam among a large group of potential targets.

Providence’s Devin Carter Declares For 2024 Draft

April 3rd, 2024 at 10:43am CST by Luke Adams

Providence guard Devin Carter has decided to enter his name in the 2024 NBA draft and go pro, forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

The No. 17 overall prospect on ESPN’s big board, Carter had a big junior year in 2023/24 for the Friars, averaging 19.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.8 steals in 35.3 minutes per game across 33 outings (all starts). He made 47.3% of his shot attempts from the floor, including 37.7% of 6.8 three-pointers per contest.

Carter, who began his college career at South Carolina before transferring to Providence in 2022, led the Big East in scoring and was named the conference’s Player of the Year. He didn’t make one of the Associated Press’ All-America teams, but appeared on multiple ballots, earning an honorable mention.

While he stands only 6’3″, Carter has a 6’9″ wingspan, is an elite rebounder for his position, and is considered one of the most “versatile and impactful” defensive players in college basketball, per Givony. He’s the son of former NBA guard Anthony Carter, who is now an assistant coach on Taylor Jenkins‘ Grizzlies staff.

And-Ones: West Playoffs, Tavares, EuroLeague Players, Ignite, Draft

March 23rd, 2024 at 11:07am CST by Tristan Tucker

Much of the NBA’s Western Conference could be in turmoil this offseason, The Athletic’s John Hollinger writes. There are multiple teams that are all in on their stars but are in or hovering just above play-in territory in the West, including the Warriors, Lakers, Mavericks and Suns. Those four teams could all be in the play-in while being over next year’s projected luxury tax and with numerous first-round picks depleted from their assets.

The Clippers are another team in a different, but similar dilemma. While they were in contention for the No. 1 seed at one point this season, they’re now 5.0 games back, are deep in the tax, don’t control a first-rounder until 2030, and their best players are 32, 33 and 34 years old. Paul George, meanwhile, hasn’t signed a max extension yet and could be an unrestricted free agent this summer if he declines his player option.

The Timberwolves and Nuggets are happy right now given their placement in the standings (and Denver’s 2022/23 title) but are both in win-now mode.

While this is the case every year in both conferences, the stakes feel extremely high given the repercussions each team could face if they bow out of the playoffs early. Many of the aforementioned teams don’t have the cap flexibility or the assets to make significant moves to bolster their chances, Hollinger points out. For some teams, their current iteration is the best chance they’ll have at a title for some time.

The Pelicans, Thunder and Kings are the only three of the top 10 who, at least on paper, have the wherewithal to make obvious and meaningful external improvements/acquisitions this offseason, Hollinger opines. With seven of the conference’s top 10 teams all in, or nearly there, on their current builds, this postseason will be a pivotal one.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Former NBA and current Real Madrid center Edy Tavares is exploring his NBA options before he becomes a free agent this offseason, Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews tweets. According to Urbonas, Tavares is looking for a substantial role on a competitive NBA team and is looking for an annual salary that approaches the mid-level exception, worth roughly $12.5MM. Tavares received a multiyear offer from the Trail Blazers last offseason but his buyout clause got in the way. Now set to be a free agent after averaging 9.7 points and 6.4 rebounds in EuroLeague, he’ll likely receive massive offers to stay in EuroLeague, which could dissuade NBA teams from signing him.
Tavares headlines a list from Urbonas of 10 EuroLeague names who could make the jump to the NBA this offseason. Tarik Biberovic is one young name making waves, shooting 57.1% from three as of late. He was selected by the Grizzlies in the second round of the 2023 draft and could eventually find his way stateside. A similar article from HoopsHype’s Dionysis Aravantinos explores the same topic, with Gabriele Procida and Markus Howard among the names discussed. Of note, Urbonas writes that Mario Hezonja, who once criticized the NBA, is intending to return to the league at some point and is aggressively exploring the market.
With news that the G League Ignite is shutting down after the season, several of the team’s young players are left in limbo in regards to their future options, Yahoo Sports’ Krysten Peek writes. Thierry Darlan, Babacar Sane and London Johnson are among players who could test the NBA draft waters and go to the combine but aren’t facing pressure to stay in the draft. Meanwhile, Dink Pate signed a two-year deal with the Ignite and doesn’t qualify to play college ball next year, so he would need to either play overseas, sign with a different G League team, or join Overtime Elite.
With March Madness underway, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie and The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor all published mock drafts for the 2024 class. Both Scotto and O’Connor have Alexandre Sarr as the No. 1 pick, while Vecenie gives Zaccharie Risacher that honor. O’Connor moved Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard up to the second slot and Vecenie has him going fourth, but Scotto has him at No. 8. UConn’s Stephon Castle is mocked sixth in Vecenie’s and O’Connor’s drafts but is 15th in Scotto’s. Providence’s Devin Carter (10th in O’Connor’s) and Duke’s Kyle Filipowski (ninth in Scotto’s) are among the other notable differences between the various mocks.

And-Ones: Scoring Rate, McGruder, A. Williams, Sheppard

March 13th, 2024 at 1:58pm CST by Luke Adams

There has been a noticeable dip in points and fouls per game across the NBA since the All-Star break. According to Marc Stein at Substack, entering Tuesday’s games, teams were averaging 111.7 points and 19.9 free throws per game since the All-Star game, compared to 115.5 points and 22.7 free throws per contest prior to the break.

As Stein notes, there has been some speculation that – following a record-setting first half and an embarrassing All-Star game that saw nearly 400 points scored – the NBA quietly instructed its officials to call fewer shooting fouls in recent weeks.

However, a league spokesperson told Stein that the league office hasn’t given any directive to referees to call games any differently. The NBA’s position, then, is that the recent trend is a statistical anomaly, though those numbers are worth watching down the stretch, Stein writes.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Olimpia Milano and veteran guard Rodney McGruder have parted ways, the Italian club announced today (via Twitter). Milano’s statement indicates that McGruder was granted permission to return to the U.S. for personal reasons. The 32-year-old wing, who has appeared in over 300 NBA regular season games and was in camp with the Warriors last fall, averaged 7.6 PPG and 2.6 RPG in seven EuroLeague games this season.
Drexel big man Amari Williams has opted to enter the NCAA transfer portal while declaring for the 2024 NBA draft, agent George Langberg tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). Williams, who has year of NCAA eligibility remaining, has been named the Colonial Athletic Association’s Defensive Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons, though he’s not on ESPN top-100 prospect list for ’24.
John Hollinger of The Athletic names the nine NCAA prospects he’ll be watching most closely in March, starting with Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard. Hollinger jokingly suggests that NBA evaluators have been trying to avoid reaching the conclusion that Sheppard is this year’s best college prospect “despite having the evidence punch them in the face every day.” Providence’s Devin Carter and Iowa’s Payton Sandfort are among the less obvious names on Hollinger’s list of players to monitor.