With Kyrie knee, Marcus FA status, we can’t give up Rozier unless it returns a great prospect. Don’t feel Carter qualifies.
I think Carter is a very good prospect. Don’t think he’s a surefire All-Star, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if when we look back on this draft he had the best career out of all the bigs taken in the top 10. I also think he’s better than any center in the draft next year, which looks terribly weak on centers.
If we want a long-term prospect to offer Al insurance, Carter would be a good bet. (Not outright replacing Al, but being able to step in after a season and competently fill in for Al as Terry did for Kyrie this year).
If Carter actually falls to a spot where we could get him with Terry plus a non-Sacto pick I would think hard about it. He seems to have good BBIQ and a well-rounded skill set. His fit with our young core has the potential to be really, really good. He doesn't have Ayton's ceiling, but who does, and his floor looks pretty high.
If the team likes him enough there are complementary moves we could make as Kyrie insurance - maybe the MLE goes to a combo guard. We would also have to find minutes for Carter. It's possible that he could take 10-15 minutes a game even in his first year - he's got an NBA body and his BBIQ seems high - but I don't think you could start the season trusting him to play in Baynes' slot. Maybe if you get Carter you hang on to Baynes and have to send out Theis - who I like, and see as a really nice player! - but it seems like a waste to bury him on the bench. Theis could bring back a future pick or picks, which will come in handy, or maybe a backup PG if we need the MLE for a Baynes replacement (Dedmon?). Ideally, Carter starts by taking Theis' minutes, a few minutes each from Baynes and Mook, and by the end of the year he's ready for more.
I have wondered about his ability to defend on the perimeter. Some observers were down on him for that reason, but I've seen more convincing arguments that he's fine as long as he drops down into a stance (his technique was inconsistent - we can fix that) and his defensive abilities were hidden because Duke played a lot of zone to cover Bagley's limitations.
Such a tough decision. It's still tempting to hang on to all the picks and wait for next year. Rolling with Terry and adding Hayward and Irving is a pretty good default. I guess we'll find out how the Cs evaluate these guys and whether they have a different evaluation from the other teams picking 5-10.