According to ESPN basketball insider Chad Ford, 2014 NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams could be on the move.
“I’ve heard a lot of rumblings from GMs that Carter-Williams is available. There are some in ownership and in the front office, though not all, that don’t see him as a long-term piece of the puzzle. There was a lot of chatter that direction before the draft and in the past few weeks I know several teams have had exploratory discussions with the Sixers.”
Carter-Williams, despite only playing in 29 of the Sixers’ 37 games, has arguably been the team’s best player. For the season, Carter-Williams averages 14.3 points, 7.3 assists and 6.4 rebounds a game. His stats are indeed encouraging, but why would Philadelphia consider trading MCW? It’s no secret G.M. Sam Hinke wants to build the team with the best talent possible.
Philadelphia had its sights set on a point guard during the 2013 NBA Draft, as the team traded away Jrue Holiday earlier in the night to the Pelicans for big man Nerlens Noel. Sitting with the 11th pick, the two teams ahead of Philadelphia (Minnesota and Portland) were set at point guard. Philadelphia knew Michigan standout Trey Burke was a real possibility, and could be had. However, a curveball was thrown as Minnesota selected Burke, and promptly traded him to Utah.
All hope wasn’t lost, Philadelphia could still select C.J. McCollum, the high scorer from Lehigh University, but Portland snatched him up. The only option for Philadelphia was Carter-Williams, who given the talent ahead of him, couldn’t have been the team’s first choice. That’s one theory as to why Philadelphia might want to trade Carter-Williams, because he wasn’t their first choice. Philadelphia might feel a score-first point guard (possibly drafting Emanuel Mudiay with their top pick in 2015.) is the better fit for the team.
Whatever Philadelphia decides it’s pretty clear Carter-Williams is not part of the team’s future plans.