Carter is a great rebounder for a PG, and just in general. He always seemed to make efforts to run to the basket before the ball started coming down and end up with a board against a teammate or an opponent. I do think like half of his rebounds were free and he didn't have to fight for them, but still, he went out of his way to get a board most of the time, and succeeded, as visible from the near 9 rebounds he averaged per game (8.7 overall, 7.7 defensive, to be specific...).
Mostly a good defensive player. Can apply pressure well, hustles and sprints back and forth to keep up with his opponents or recover if he loses track of his guy (just puts in noticeable effort), can read passes fairly well, has decent close-outs, not uncommon for him to rack up steals (averaged a ton this season, 1.8), and he can provide good off-ball defense. There are some aspects of his defense which I don't like, which will be mentioned later, but for the most part Carter's defense is really appealing and an aspect of his game that differentiates him from other guards in this draft (also averaged 1 block per game, just didn't know how to fit that in there).
Athletic guy. Quick player, most notably defensively (can show his quickness offensively too though), and although he doesn't show it off too much, Carter can really jump. If he wanted to, he could be flashy around the rim and catch some lobs, something he's shown in flashes that he could do. Pretty sure he was tied for 1st in the vertical jump at the combine, not sure if he kept that "1st" spot, but he was up there.
Good ball handler. His ball handling is effective in helping him get to his spots and attempt to create for his teammates or drive to the rim (which is where he creates most of the time so... kind of the same thing).
Overall, a decently efficient player. 47% from the field, has an ok scoring efficiency, and has a great shooting efficiency.
He's gotten better as a player throughout the years, but I wouldn't say his leaps are too crazy, but still noticeable.
+
Worries:
I couldn't find enough film on Carter as I would've liked.
I'm not a fan of his shooting ability, but I don't think it's awful. On film, he tended to get cold and struggled to hit shots a lot, and I think most of that stemmed from his shot selection, which can be really poor at times. I don't like how he pulls up from deep a lot, because it's not often that he hits those shots. Although he's an alright 37% from three, he's also a bad 74% from the line which doesn't make me like his shooting any bit more. I will say though, his shot has improved heavily compared to last year, but that really only tells you how bad of a shooter he was before. Carter won't be a bad shooter in the league, I don't think he's going to be great though, and his shot won't be as good as it was in his final year of college.
As for the issues he has defensively, he fouls more than the average (got 1.9 calls per game), he can be out of control at times, and he gets blown by more than you'd like. Like I said, Carter is a fast player, but defensively that can be bad for him. He can be too quick on his closeouts, or too quick trying to catch up to his defender, to where he falls for a pump-fake and gets blown by, or he hits a screen going too fast and just falls to the ground, unable to get up in time to defend his guy. It seemed like his opponents drove past him a lot more than I'd like, but Carter at least made attempts to recover, and succeeded sometimes. Another potential issue of his, which deserves its own little section, is that...
... he's undersized for his position. Being only 6'3 and 195, he's not the ideal height or size for a PG. While it's not an awful frame to have, taller (maybe not stronger) guards are becoming more and more common as time progresses, so it becomes an issue. There is a redeeming quality of his though, in terms of length, and that's that he has a good wingspan; 6'9. For me personally, it's not enough to completely ignore the fact he's 6'3 and 195, but it is a pro of his.
I'm really on the fence whether if I like his finishing or not, which is enough for me to put it as a worry. While I don't think he's a bad finisher (he's had some nice takes and some good performances around the rim), he just doesn't get to the basket enough for me to buy into his finishing ability. Some nights he doesn't drive to the rim at all, or cut to the basket, he just shoots a lot of threes and passes the ball a lot (which is fine, just doesn't help me grasp how good he is at the hoop). And when he did drive to the rim, it wasn't uncommon for him to drive, try to do something the post, fail because of his size, and have to kick the ball out, just wasting time and not really leading to anything. I think I like his finishing more than I don't, because his highs are higher than his lows, but I can't be sold on it since I don't have enough to go off on.
His off-ball movement is really whatever. He does move off the ball often, but it's mostly around the perimeter for better positioning or a better look from three. It's uncommon for him to cut to the basket and score. Wish he put in some more effort as well overall, and that he moved a bit more when the ball wasn't in his hands.
+
Dislikes:
Really borders between a worry and a dislike, but I don't like his passing all that much. He passes a lot, but his passes always seemed super basic and often didn't lead to anything (to be fair, most of the time that's because his teammates sold the look. Only averaged 3.6 assists this season). It's not rare for him to not do anything passing-wise either, or just have some bad throws. With him having a really mediocre assist/turnover ratio of 1.2, as well as getting a lot more turnovers than you'd like, 2.7 (with not as many assists to cancel it out), I just can't like his playmaking as much as others might.
On the older side, but not too old. Is going to be 22 on draft night and 23 next year.
+
I like Carter, I think he's a fine overall player. His defense is really what sets him apart from most players, but his offense worries me a little. I think there's more to like than dislike, but I don't think Carter is amazing. Again, there wasn't enough film on him as I would've liked, so some of my questions and perspectives on him might be bad, but I'm just going off of what I can.
Player comp: this actually might just be because they look kind of alike, but I couldn't stop thinking of how Carter is Jose Alverado if he had a growth spurt.