Todd Ramasar, the Los Angeles-based agent for Robert Carter Jr., said Friday that he believes the Golden State Warriors could be the perfect landing spot for the former Maryland forward who went undrafted Thursday night.
Four of Golden State’s backup frontcourt players – 6-foot-10 center Marreese Speights, 6-11 center Festus Ezeli, 6-11 forward Anderson Varejao and 6-9 forward James Michael McAdoo – will all be free agents.
Though the 6-9, 245-pound Carter is clearly not a center, the Warriors’ penchant for playing “small ball” with 6-7 forward Draymond Green guarding the opponent’s big man while posing something of a perimeter mismatch on the offensive end could help Carter.
Ramasar confirmed an earlier report that Carter had declined the opportunity to get drafted in the second round and then sent to Europe for seasoning by both the Atlanta Hawks at No. 44 and the Denver Nuggets at No. 53.
Carter did not sign with the Warriors as a free agent, but will play with the team at the Las Vegas Summer League in July.
“I’m keeping it open because I’m betting on Robert, and Robert understands this – they’ll need help in their frontcourt,” Ramasar said.
Robert Carter Jr. reportedly turned down chance to be drafted by teams that wanted to send him to Europe
Robert Carter Jr. reportedly turned down chance to be drafted by teams that wanted to send him to Europe
Ramasar said that the team’s No. 1 draft pick, Vanderbilt center Damian Jones, will be out “six to eight months” after surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle, though reports are that Jones could be ready for the season.
Another Golden State player who happens to be one of Ramasar’s clients, Kevon Looney, will be out until training camp after having hip surgery to repair a torn labrum.
“With all the injuries and all the free agents, and assuming they’re going after a max [contract] player like a Kevin Durant, they are going to need to fill in the roster with minimum [salary] contracts, or close to it,” Ramasar said.
“Robert’s style of player, also the Warriors’ history of finding guys that are undrafted and keeping them on the roster, like Ian Clarke or James Michael McAdoo or Kent Bazemore or Justin Holiday, everything’s in Robert’s favor.”
Ramasar said the Warriors reached out to him about two days before Thursday’s draft to inquire about Carter.
“It wasn’t something that came up during the draft. This was something that they had been pursuing since prior to the draft,” Ramasar said. “Around pick 45 to 50, they reached out and I discussed it with Robert and discussed it with them after the draft that was where he was going to go.”
Ramasar said that he thought Carter could have been picked in the second round by the Detroit Pistons had they not picked Marquette center Henry Ellenson in the first round, they might have drafted Carter in the second round (at No. 49) instead of Syracuse guard Michael Gbinije.
“Things happen,” Ramasar said. “Outside looking in, some people who might not be familiar with the business may not understand that Robert is in an excellent situation. The way that it’s being treated is similar to a second-round draft pick. He could earn his contract [during summer league] and get guaranteed money.”
According to Ramasar, Carter has dropped his body fat to around 10 percent, per the measurements taken by the Clippers after a recent workout. He had been measured at about 13 percent at the NBA combine in Chicago last month.
“We want him down to single digits body fat,” Ramasar said.
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