The Sixers have made waves with their willingness to rebuild by all means necessary, so nothing GM Sam Hinkie does should come as a huge surprise.
Still, for a rebuilding club, the prospect of trading the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year would certainly raise a few eyebrows. According to Zach Lowe of Grantland, Philadelphia tried to do exactly that by shopping Michael Carter-Williams heavily during the 2014 NBA Draft back in June.
They tried hard during the draft, but they couldn’t draw the trove they envisioned or guarantee that the player they wanted with an acquired pick would be there, per several league sources. Expect Philly to repeat the exercise. It’s not a shot at Carter-Williams, or even a signal that the Sixers are dying to trade him. He may well end up a long-term cog in Philly.
The team knows point guard is the most replaceable position in the league today, and it will seek out any deal that adds to its stockpile of high-value draft picks.
Lowe predicts the Sixers will continue to “sniff out” potential Carter-Williams deals during the season.
The logic is sound. As Lowe says, point guard is a highly replaceable position, and Carter-Williams shot just 26.4% from 3-point range — a very low number for an analytics-driven front office that many believe places a high value on 3-point shooting. Additionally, Carter-Williams is still recovering from major shoulder surgery, and it remains to be seen what impact that has on his development.
But the Sixers went just 19-63 a season ago. From that group, quality rotation players like Thad Young and Spencer Hawes have already departed, potentially making them even worse. Nerlens Noel, the team’s 2013 first-round draft pick, is finally expected to make his long-awaited NBA debut, but 2014 first-rounder Joel Embiid may miss all of 2014-15 recovering from his foot injury.
Amid all that uncertainty, Carter-Williams, who averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game in his rookie season, is one of the few recognizable names left on the roster and a tangible building block for a suffering Philadelphia fan base to cling to during this extensive rebuild.
Should the Sixers move him for more unknown quantities, even the most patient of fans would thoroughly be tested. For the rest of the league, it’s an interesting name to add to potential watch-lists. Carter-Williams, now 23, makes only $2.3 million this season and still has three more years of complete club control remaining on his rookie contract.
That could make Carter-Williams an attractive addition for both rebuilding teams and contenders, and it explains why Hinkie and the unorthodox front office in Philadelphia would gauge the market. For them, nothing is ever off the table, and shopping the reigning Rookie of the Year is more proof.
NBA TO EXPERIMENT IN PRESEASON WITH 44-MINUTE GAME
The NBA will experiment with a 44-minute game this preseason when the Boston Celtics visit the Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 19.
The experiment will involve quarters being reduced from their typical 12 minutes each to 11 along with a lower amount of mandatory timeouts in the second and fourth quarters.
From the NBA’s official release:
The league is utilizing the preseason contest to examine the flow of a shorter game as compared to the standard 48-minute game.
“At our recent coaches’ meeting, we had a discussion about the length of our games, and it was suggested that we consider experimenting with a shorter format,” said NBA President, Basketball Operations Rod Thorn. “After consulting with our Competition Committee, we agreed to allow the Nets and Celtics to play a 44-minute preseason game in order to give us some preliminary data that will help us to further analyze game-time lengths.”
Since taking over as commissioner, Adam Silver has evaluated several unorthodox ideas to potentially boost the health of his league’s players. While shortening the regular season from its current 82-game format is unlikely due to a loss of revenue for owners, curtailing the length of the games themselves could offer an innovative way to reduce the grind of a long NBA season.
Brooklyn head coach Lionel Hollins and Boston head coach Brad Stevens are expected to offer feedback to the league after Sunday’s trial run.
AL HORFORD WAS MADE AVAILABLE IN TRADE TALKS BY ATLANTA
The Atlanta Hawks made Al Horford available to a select group of teams last season and could do so again under new ownership, reports Grantland‘s Zach Lowe.
It happened in stealth mode last season, when the Hawks reached out to a select group and made it known that Horford could be had for the right price — including an unprotected 2014 first-round pick, per several league sources. Nothing materialized, and Horford is ready to return from another torn pectoral muscle.
Horford is under contract at a relative-bargain rate of $12 million/season through 2015-16, which could bring more teams into the mix since Horford won’t have the freedom to exit after one year. This past season, Atlanta’s asking price included an unprotected 2014 first-round pick, Lowe writes.
Still, the variable remains Atlanta’s ownership in the aftermath of the Luol Deng controversy.
Stars have rebuffed Atlanta’s money, and the ugly Luol Deng controversy did not enhance the team’s appeal. New owners over the last half-decade have green-lit some aggressive teardowns.
The Hawks don’t have a new owner yet, and as long as Mike Budenholzer is running the front office, they are unlikely to make any trade that represents a present-day step back.
If the ownership situation changes before the deadline, there’s no telling what stance the Hawks might take with Horford, Jeff Teague, or anyone else. Teams will inquire about Horford either way.
Horford, who can play both power forward and center, averaged 18.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in 2013-14 before a torn pectoral muscle ended his season prematurely in late December.
Horford returned to the floor for the Hawks for the first time since the injury in Tuesday night’s exhibition game in Miami. If he stays healthy, interest in the Atlanta big man should be substantial.
OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE
Detroit shooting guard Jodie Meeks has a stress reaction in his lower back and will be out about two months.
The news, first reported by Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News, certainly isn’t welcome for the Pistons. After shooting a career-best 40.1% from 3-point range with the Lakers last season, new Detroit head coach and president Stan Van Gundy targeted Meeks and lured him to Detroit with a 3-year, $19.1-million deal.
But with Meeks out for at least a couple of months, Goodwill predicts the Pistons will play Josh Smith at small forward some to help fill the void, along with pushing Kyle Singler and Caron Butler to shooting guard. “Think you’ll see a bigger lineup all around,” Goodwill tweeted.
Meeks was first diagnosed with back spasms on Oct. 9.
The Toronto Raptors picked up the fourth-year team options on Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross, guaranteeing their initial NBA contracts through the 2015-16 season.
Valanciunas, a 7-foot center from Lithuania drafted No. 5 overall in 2011, led the Raptors in rebounds and double-doubles a season ago. He averaged 11.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
Ross, meanwhile, was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2012 draft. The 6-foot-7 guard/forward averaged a career-best 10.9 points per game a season ago and started 62 of Toronto’s final 63 games.
Ross scored 51 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 25, tying Vince Carter’s franchise record in Toronto for points in a game.
Ben DuBose is a veteran sports reporter who has followed the Houston Rockets and the NBA since Hakeem Olajuwon was Akeem Olajuwon. He writes for SheridanHoops and ClutchFans, an independent Rockets blog. You can follow him on Twitter.