The Sacramento Kings drew plenty of criticism last month when they decided to fire head coach Mike Brown amid a disappointing start to the 2024-25 season. It’s more likely that the real culprit of the team’s poor start is their roster construction. With the NBA trade deadline approaching next month, the team is looking to upgrade their roster. The Kings have been linked to Cam Johnson of the Brooklyn Nets, but one potential holdup is their unwillingness to include one of their young players in a potential trade, as per NBA Insider Marc Stein.

While Cam Johnson would certainly help the Kings this season, the team has reportedly not included rookie wing Devin Carter in any trade discussions with the Nets.

Johnson is a name that’s been highly-coveted around the NBA in trade talks as the Nets proceed with a rebuild. If Johnson is traded, he would be the fourth of the Nets’ veterans to be moved since the offseason.

The Nets’ rebuild was kicked off with the Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks trade, and then followed up with the Dennis Schroder trade to the Golden State Warriors and Dorian Finney-Smith trade to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Kings, on the other hand, are looking to compete in the Western Conference this season. They are currently 16-19 and in 11th place in the Western Conference standings.

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Sacramento Kings guard Devin Carter (22) passes the ball against Memphis Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. (1) during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center.
Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The Kings reportedly do not want to include Carter in any trade discussions with the Nets, and it’s understandable why. Carter was the No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and he has a lot of potential.

Carter was sidelined to begin the 2024-25 season due to a shoulder injury he suffered during the offseason. But he was cleared to make his Kings’ debut this week, and got into his first NBA game on Friday during the team’s win against the Memphis Grizzlies.

In a little over ten minutes of play, picked up five rebounds and two assists while missing all three of his shots.

Before making his Kings’ debut, Carter played two games in the G League with the Stockton Kings to assist with his conditioning and getting up to game speed. In those two games, Carter averaged 23.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.0 blocked shots with splits of 51.5 percent shooting from the field, 52.6 percent shooting from the three-point line and 66.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line.