While there is a lot of increasing noise about the 76ers trading their pick, they might also choose to add a player on a cheap, cost-controlled contract that they feel can contribute in the near future. It’s always hard to predict with certainty who that player could be, leading to the likelihood of using it in a trade to surround Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey with more surefire support. But those types of players are always out there for the best scouting departments to find.

Devin Carter is one of the prospects projected to go where the Sixers are drafting that could be a legitimately impactful player from the get-go. The 22-year-old has had years to grow his game in college and possesses a blend of size, skill and athleticism that should make him a strong option at point guard for just about any team.

Carter sees the 76ers as a place where he could thrive. He thinks he would fit nicely alongside Maxey, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“I think I’ll fit in pretty well. I like Maxey and Embiid. I like what he does on offense and everything,” Carter said, via the Inquirer. “I thought I could be a good compliment to him, especially spreading the floor, letting the ball breathe. When he draws two [defenders], kick it for an open three and also provide that defensive anchor. You know [being] somebody who can lock down other team’s best player and just getting team stops to get out in transition and go.”

Why Devin Carter would be a great pick for 76ers at No. 16 in 2024 NBA Draft

Devin Carter, the son of 13-year NBA veteran/current Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Anthony Carter, is ranked 18th on ClutchPoints’ Big Board for this year’s draft prospects. He’s on the older side when it comes to this year’s pool of prospects, many of whom are somewhere around 19 or 20 years of age. But the fact that he’s older speaks to the time he spent developing in college. After coming off the bench for South Carolina as a freshman, Carter became not just a starter but a star with Providence.

In his final season at Providence, Carter averaged 19.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from deep on 6.8 attempts per game. He took a lot of threes and drew a solid amount of shooting fouls, posting a three-point attempt rate of .482 and a free-throw rate of .369. This past NBA regular season saw only two qualified players match those marks: James Harden and Damian Lillard.

Carter’s shooting improved immensely over the course of his time in college. His incredible athleticism and tenacity, though, are his true calling cards. He is 6-foot-3 with a wingspan of nearly 6-foot-9. His mobility and jumping abilities tested very well at the NBA Draft Combine, adding to a collegiate tape full of emphatic dunks and aggressive defense.

Whether Philly’s front office trades or makes the pick has yet to be seen, as it has gone both routes before under Daryl Morey. The Sixers made out really well with the 21st overall pick in 2020 when they landed Maxey. They traded the 23rd pick two drafts later in a trade for key rotation player De’Anthony Melton.

A guy like Carter is exactly what the Sixers would want to put next to Maxey: someone who can make an impact on defense and slide into an ancillary role on offense. Even with the learning curve that would come from making the jump to the pros, Carter could be another story of draft success in Philly.