Monte McNair on selecting Devin Carter at 13: “The draft is not about right now.”

Monte McNair on selecting Devin Carter at 13: “The draft is not about right now.”

all right good evening everyone good to see you all um as always I would like to start off by thanking my front office staff who uh tonight and tomorrow now uh the culmination of not just the last few weeks but um the past few months and really the past few years um of evaluating these draft prospects and um tonight is is always an exciting night uh appreciate all the the hard work uh from West Wilcox GM Phil Jabor uh our vice president player Personnel who who runs our draft process day in day out um fantastic job uh from them as always to to make us prepared um obviously coming into tonight with uh with the 13th pick we’ve beted a lot of possibilities as we always do um but ultimately uh excited to pick uh Devin Carter and uh add him uh to the Kings and just the the exact type of guy that we always look for um intangibles on and off the court uh the ability to play on and off the ball play both ends uh and frankly just a winner and so U really excited uh to bring Devon in and uh with that I’ll take some questions hey M um when you think about just Devon been first landing on your radar obviously if anyone’s watching college basketball they know who he is just how soon did were you guys made aware of him and when you kind of started thinking that he’d be a good fish yeah you m multi-year college player um started at South Carolina before going to Providence but um certainly popped in the past I think uh this year in particular took another jump um you know the kind of the heartbeat of of Providence this year um improved his shot somebody who’s always kind of popped in our both for our Scouts and our analyst because of all the things he does on the floor uh but to add more scoring and shooting this year I think was was a big uptick and um but some some was certainly on our radar before that and and are you able to maybe characterize just how the night went for you guys I mean I think there was a lot of people who maybe expecting you to move or have some sort of movement and maybe how um how much you guys have been on the phone and and having those type of possibilities yeah um certainly an active active night and active you know few days as as always because uh you don’t know how the board’s going to shake out you don’t know what the opportunities are going to be um we do a lot of scenario planning a lot of um try and hypothetical what are what are the decisions we might be facing um I think at the end of the day Deon somebody very high up on our board that we really weren’t expecting to be there at 13 and so uh when he was there we decided to pick in and add him to our to our group weite you know want me start here it seems like you would create a log J you know the guard position now you uh set on that position how you look at that you know now that you have so many so many individuals you know playing in that position no we understand the importance of roster balance not just across positions but skill sets um and uh you know we’re at the beginning of of the offseason where where we’ll be able to continue to shape the roster but uh as I’ve continually the draft the draft is not about right now uh the draft is about some adding somebody to our team who could be here for a long time and we try to draft the best player available and you know we look for versatile guys I mean dein Carter just checks checks all the boxes if you watch the playoffs this year there’s a lot of Deon Carter out there I’ll put it that way and um so we try to find tough physical guys who can play on both ends make a shot score the ball switch guard guys rebound I mean guy like that we we couldn’t pass up so um you know we understand the rest of the roster and what we’ll have to do there uh but tonight was about that and Monte just hearing over the last two years how Mike has kind of preached defense and versatility on that end of the floor Devon seems to fit a lot into that how much was Mike involved in the process and what do you envision Devon’s fit in Mike’s system yeah well well first of all we’re excited to have Coach Brown here even longer um and uh I know I haven’t talked to you guys since then but um you know Mike uh and his ability to get the most out of guys and our defense I think the best that’s been in in quite a long time this year um but still not good enough and uh so but I think Devon you know certainly the defense and what he can do on that end is uh one of the the cornerstones of his game but uh I think what’s appealing about him is that you can you can put him on the floor and both ends he’s going to contribute and uh I think as talk talking with Mike we just got to continue to find guys uh that can play both ends and that can can stick on the floor uh no matter what the other team throws him forgive me we also haven’t talked to you since the Malik news as well so taking away from the draft a little bit Malik coming back another guard now with with Devon to continue kind of building that part of the roster I guess to tie it in how you see the two of them coexisting and just your thoughts on Malik retiring yeah can’t can’t get into free agency uh we’ll talk about that uh when the time comes but obviously Malik somebody who’s who’s been a huge part of our success the last two years and uh fan favorite fantastic um you know we all love Malik certainly um and uh but we’ll talk about other stuff in the time FS M’s Devon’s only 6’2 but he has the wingspan and the rebounding numbers is is he somebody who can who you guys Envision maybe playing up particularly defensively can he play bigger than maybe his initial size would indicate yeah for sure I think think the uh like you mentioned the wingspan um I think he’s plus seven um really long uh you know at 62 Plus without shoes we’re talking 63 64 um play both guard spots and but I think even more than that is is he just plays even bigger you know he’s he rebounds on both ends uh he blocks shots uh he’s tough he’s strong uh one of the best athletes in the class uh at the combine I think had one of the fastests and one of the best verticles so um all those things you know I think tie together for somebody that um Can can guard multiple positions and and guys that maybe are taller than him I don’t know if I’d say bigger uh but guys that are taller and um I think that’s one of the big keys of his versatility that he brings yeah hey money uh Devin Fitz s similar to some of your other first rounders a guy that really progressed throughout his years in college is there something about seeing that year-to-year growth and that progress from a player that is encouraging to you we yeah we always want to see see players improve um and uh we want that growth to continue and I so I think a big thing about Devon that as we dug in one of the best work ethics uh in the class if not the best and uh we all know his father played the NBA I’m sure he’s gotten some pointers on what it takes to win not just at the Collegiate level but but here at the next level and um yeah that’s those things we saw those improvements I already mentioned the shooting but um you know taking a bigger role offensively uh while still being you know one of the best defenders uh in the Big East so um you know we love to see that we hope it continues hey money brand Bas here new with Channel 13 uh just bit of a different draft uh setup this year obviously some time now between the rounds what is this time now that you have a night to kind of breathe a little bit what does that do for you kind of going into tomorrow yeah definitely different usually right now we’re just screaming through the second round trying to figure out what picks are are with what teams um it’s kind of nice to take a little breather reset uh you know see see what the board looks like see what other opportunities are out there and uh you know we got we got to pick tomorrow and um so it’ll be different our groups you know certainly going to have to learn on the fly but um you I think it’s good for the NBA it’s good it’s good for us uh and um you know we’ll put a little bit Tri tral by fire yeah I’m just kind of curious about Sasha’s future here uh with you know obviously there’s been varying reports out there about you know where he might be headed or not headed I’m just wondering what where that’s at right now yeah uh yeah I won’t get any of those rumors I think Sasha we saw when he got on the court last year can make a positive impact for us obviously one of the best Shooters and you know we’re hopeful that uh we can find a way for him to continue to do that here for us and you know help us win games Monty kind of two-part since you you can talk about Mike um maybe you elaborate just just a little bit on continuing that that partnership and kind of what he’s brought to the organization and and sort of related like since you have taken care of a fair bit of your like offseason business so far with Mike and Malik and now this pick like how how this fits into the bigger picture of what you’re trying to do this summer and and how much more work you feel like there is to do yeah I mean Mike uh you know just uh an amazing coach I think we’ve seen what he’s done here the last two years um two of the best years in in SA a long time um 94 wins obviously uh break breaking the playoff drought um I think Mike does a great job of of you know like I said getting getting on guys and then putting his arm around him um and just the stability that he brings um he’s such a a great leader um great face to the organization way more charismatic than I am up here uh so you guys should be glad you get to talk to him uh 82 times and me three uh but you know he he’s just a great partner um and uh you know we think he’s the guy to lead us where we want to go um yeah as for the the roster and and what we got in the weeks ahead you know we always we know this is we talk about internal we know we got to internally improve our players um you know we talked about Devin and his ability his work ethic uh at the same time external Improvement draft trade and free agency and we’re right smack da in that window uh we got a couple more weeks and you know our goal is to come out with with the best chance to get our goal and the good thing about Sacramento is right now the play playoffs uh is the goal and anything less than that is is not acceptable so that’s where we’re headed you talked about preferring best player available in the draft and just curious how uh difficult can that be sometimes while also factoring in roster construction or is it really just kind of as simple as that yeah I think we do a lot of preparation I think um one thing with Devin um you know we part of the draft we do we do everything from from medical to scouting um we know Devon has been dealing with with a shoulder injury we’ve been in contact with his group U so we’ll get him get him in here evaluate that part of it um and uh you know the long long term is uh is not an issue for him but we’ll see what that is but um it’s you know it’s just such a the the process these days is just you know 12 months a year and it’s just so much and uh you know you see these guys play and then you you Wonder Man how would that guy fit with us and then you go through the process and you continue to put him put him into different you know spots on your team and envision what it’s going to look like and Devon just fit in so many ways next to so many of our guys um and uh so a really you know just his versatility I think is going to play out in addition that Monte deon’s rebounding numbers really jump off the page after I think nine a game for in the most Recon he played at 6’2 How unique is that skill set for him and and I guess what do you what is your assessment of when looking at player Talent someone like him who can get those kind of boards for one great thing and and our group does a great job we we have we have Scouts that watch these guys all the time uh and they’re marrying what they’re seeing with their eyes with the numbers one thing was great with the numbers rebounding translates just about as well as any skill so uh Devin will Rebound in the NBA and that’s that’s a very important defensive rebounding that’s a big part of our defensive Improvement at the same time being a rebounder means not just rebounding it means you’re smart it means you’re active it means you’re tough it means you can jump uh it signals a bunch of other things that you can do on the court and uh so guys who can rebound guys who block shots guys who get steals if that lines up with what our Scouts are seeing that he can put those that manifest those onto the court in ways that help us win uh that’s where we feel really comfortable and Deon was was I think the guy in the draft that put those things together the best and that just gives us the most confidence he’s going to continue to do it for us Monty does he remind you of anyone like I know he’s unique to himself Sean you’re trying to get me in trouble I can’t name NBA players man maybe maybe even a past NBA play I don’t I don’t need to know maybe one right now but it’s a it’s a unique skill set that he has I mean really with that rebounding do you see him fitting a type of role similarly to maybe what you’ve seen in previous years yeah I think I I mentioned it I think that a lot of Devon likee players played a a prominent role in the playoffs and he’s just the type of guy that he’s going to help you win during the 82 game regular season which is important but I think uh down the road in his career he’s going to be the type of guy that is even more important uh in April May and June where we hope to be playing uh a lot and so uh you know I just think the NBA is going towards these guys that are um look he’s going to play point guard he’s going to play some off the ball he’s going to have to guard the point of attack and guard the pick and roll and you know and then guys they’re going to try to get him off of him and he’s going to have to go and and wreak havoc off the ball so um the more that you can just impact the game in all those different ways um I think that’s the way the NBA is going and I think Deon fits that move what do you know about the shoulder injury mention uh so we we know he’s dealing with one I think we got to get him in here and get with our get with our doctors and and just see what it is but um you know we’re what what we get through the draft process our docs are uh confident we’ve been in touch with this team we’re confidence not a longterm issue but uh we’re not sure what where it’ll be do you is it enough you know at this point that he might not play Summer League like yeah too too soon M kind of following up when Sean asked you earlier there was a lot of talk locally and nationally that you guys were looking to maybe trade out of that number 13 spot did you ever receive a serious offer that you had to give you know consideration to or is it just going into today and letting fall ships fall where they made yeah there was uh as always lot lots of discussion around the pick as a lottery pick you know uh so there’s always great interest in that I think what what ended up happening at the end of the day is we had a guy really high up on our board who I think uh many were predicting was going to be a top 10 pick um that ended up there for us at 13 and uh when that happened uh nothing else uh on our beat that and we’re exit to like last did mention that you know you guys had to sit down meeting face to face you know the hire ups and things like that how how did that process go what do you look for when you uh have these type of conversations you know when you bring them in I think so much of the draft process these days is is getting to know these guys and um you know I think it used to be maybe you’d see a guy once or twice a couple games on film uh but getting him in was more about the work out and seeing on the court and see what else they can do now you know i’ probably you know’s played 90 college games our Scouts have seen scores of those and so I think uh the draft process now is more about the the person the human and what what you can get to know about them so you can see how they’ll fit we know how their game will fit I think pretty well uh how will the person fit and so that interview uh you know being around him in the workout having him in our building having him showing him this great facility all those things uh is as much about him getting to know us as us getting to know him and um you know he just he just presents himself as as what he is which is a confident uh mature young man who um you know really his personality relies what he does on the court so um it was great you know myself uh and a lot of our staff were in there and very impressed with what we got from him there um that matched up with what we’ve we’ve heard heard about him what we see in the court that makes it easy thanks everyone thank you thanks guys

In the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings drafted Providence’s Devin Carter with the 13th pick. After the end of day one, general manager Monte McNair explained his thought process regarding the pick, potential trade conversations throughout the day, the positional versatility Carter provides, and his philosophy regarding drafting the best player available.

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