With the 2014-15 regular season less than a week from tipping off and Tank 2.0 getting under way for the Philadelphia 76ers, their ever-so-patient fan base will cling to every sliver of optimism and good news they can get their hands on. Well Sixers’ fans, here’s some news that should make you a little more excited about what will surely be another terrible season: the reigning Rookie of the Year, Michael Carter-Williams, is expected to make his return to the hardwood on Nov. 13 against the Dallas Mavericks, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.
"“A source told ESPN that Carter-Williams is optimistic about returning on Nov. 13 in Dallas. However, there remains a belief that the team will hold him back, since general manager Sam Hinkie has shown little desire to win games this season and instead remains hopeful of landing another top draft pick in order to rebuild the franchise through high draft picks.”"
If this were to come to fruition, Carter Williams will only miss the first seven games of the season.
As noted in Goodman’s column, there is the belief that MCW could be held out past the anticipated Nov. 13 return date to assist the tanking efforts of Sam Hinkie for an early lottery pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, but this just doesn’t seem like a very ideal strategy for the Sixers when you look at it from a individual growth standpoint.
Yes, Carter-Williams won last season’s Rookie of the Year award and yes, he has a world of upside, but let’s be clear; MCW is far from being a star player. Even with a semi-productive point guard looking to provide an encore to his rookie season, the Sixers don’t have a roster that’s capable of competing on a nightly basis, with or without MCW, which is why holding him out longer just in hopes of losing more would be an absurd idea.
The clearest reason comes when you consider how this would affect MCW from a development standpoint. Despite being crowned as the best rookie in the NBA last season, there’s a staggering list of things Carter-Williams needs to improve up throughout 2014-15. Things such as his decision making, ball security, overall athletic ability and most importantly, his touch as a jump shooter. He can’t get better sitting in a suit and with the guys he has surrounding him, the impact he has won’t be big enough to result in more than five or six extra wins on the season anyway.
Then you’ve got the chemistry with his teammates aspect as to why the earlier MCW can get on the court with his team, the better. It’s safe to say guys like Nerlens Noel and K.J. McDaniels are going to be around for a few years and both could easily become long-term starters alongside Carter-Williams. Building a championship chemistry isn’t something that’s going to happen over the course of this built-to-lose season for the Sixers and if these three, as well as whatever other role players will be around in the near future can establish some worthwhile chemistry, it will go a long way towards how well put together this team can be in a few years.
Of course, Hinkie could only plan on keeping MCW out until late November or early December and everything I said really would just get delayed a bit, but Hinkie needs to realize how bad his team really is right now and if keeping Carter-Williams out longer in order to lose is what’s on his mind, he should have no fear, the Sixers won’t be winning much either way. As for the fans, obviously they will want to see their leader and floor general back on the court and a few more seats in the Wells Fargo Center will be occupied when he’s active. Hopefully, that will become true as of Nov. 13.