The Pistons have done a great job of building a roster around a core identity of toughness and defense. These are some of the core tenets of the team, and any new additions (especially role players) will need to fit in. If they are searching for a veteran backup point guard this season, a key trade target may reside nearby in the Windy City: Jevon Carter.
Jevon Carter is buried on a bad team
Carter is a veteran point guard (entering his 8th season) known for his defensive intensity. He’s disappeared from NBA relevance in the last two seasons after signing with his hometown Chicago Bulls, but played a significant role on a contending Bucks team prior to that.
Even on the Bulls, Carter has still brought his trademark defense. In each of the last two seasons, he has finished near the top of the Bulls leaderboard in defensive rating. This included outperforming Alex Caruso in that metric in 2023-24 (albeit in half as many minutes).
In his last season with the Bucks (2022-23), Carter also showed offensive potential as a knockdown shooter. That season, he shot an incredible 42% from three on 4 attempts per game - very impressive volume and efficiency for a backup point guard. He was able to truly fill the moniker of a 3&D point guard that year.
Carter’s vaunted defense and resilience - he’s played for 4 different teams in 7 seasons so far - make him a great culture fit for Detroit. He’s got the same toughness that drew Trajan Langdon to sign Javonte Green, but Carter actually plays a position where the Pistons are extremely thin.
Jevon Carter isn’t a maestro at point guard who bends defense with his scoring and playmaking. But he is a steady hand who gets the ball to teammates in the right spots and rarely makes mistakes; his career-high in turnovers per game is 1.0. That’s exactly the type of contribution you want from a veteran point guard in limited playing time.
Carter’s dogged defense can be an asset to the Pistons, especially when he applies significant pressure to ball-handlers all the way up the court. Against weaker ball handlers, this can cause turnovers and lead to transition opportunities - which is where the Pistons are at their best. Even against better players and teams, sudden bursts of defensive pressure can throw off offensive execution.
On a better team like the Pistons, Carter can get closer to the 42 percent from downtown that he shot in Milwaukee than the 33 percent he’s shot with the Bulls. Combined with his still-incredible defense, that makes him a winning role player who gives the Pistons much-needed depth.