SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Kings explored a number of trade possibilities before selecting Providence guard Devin Carter with the No. 13 pick in Wednesday’s NBA draft.

Carter, 22, is a 6-3 1/2, 193-pound combo guard with a 6-8 3/4 wingspan. He averaged 19.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.8 steals while shooting 47.3% from the field and 37.7% from 3-point range on 6.9 attempts per game.

Sacramento shopped the No. 13 pick in trade talks around the league in hopes of adding another key rotation player to a core that features De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray and Malik Monk. The Kings were looking to upgrade their roster after losing in the play-in tournament last season, a disappointing finish for a team that ended a 16-year playoff drought in 2023.

Trade rumors continued to swirl in the hours leading up to the draft with reports linking the Kings to Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma and Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith. A league source told The Sacramento Bee the Kings were also engaged with the Nets in talks for small forward Cameron Johnson.

Sacramento’s chances of using the No. 13 pick to strike a deal for Kuzma seemingly took a hit when Washington traded Deni Avdija to the Portland Trail Blazers for Malcolm Brogdon, the No. 14 pick, a 2029 first-round pick and two future second-round picks.

Ultimately, the Kings decided to draft Carter, who will come to Sacramento to join a backcourt that includes Fox, Monk, Kevin Huerter, Keon Ellis, Davion Mitchell and Colby Jones.

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